2019 AI Hype Countdown #6: AI Will Replace Scientists!

In short, modern AI technology aims to find patterns in big datasets. However, the goal of science is to not only find truths but to articulate the supporting reasons for believing them to be truths. For example, suppose we want to know how many exoplanets (planets that orbit stars other than our sun) might have life. Simple pattern-finding is, at best, a small step in this process. Basic correlations in data don't lead directly to knowledge about causation and certainly don't tell us why they exist or how to understand them.