Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems with access to millions of research papers could inspire new research ideas that may not be conceived by humans alone. However, how interesting are these AI-generated ideas, and how can we improve their quality? Here, we introduce SciMuse, a system that uses an evolving knowledge graph built from more than 58 million scientific papers to generate personalized research ideas via an interface to GPT-4. We conducted a large-scale human evaluation with over 100 research group leaders from the Max Planck Society, who ranked more than 4,000 personalized research ideas based on their level of interest. This evaluation allows us to understand the relationships between scientific interest and the core properties of the knowledge graph. We find that data-efficient machine learning can predict research interest with high precision, allowing us to optimize the interest-level of generated research ideas. This work represents a step towards an artificial scientific muse that could catalyze unforeseen collaborations and suggest interesting avenues for scientists.

Art curatorial practice is characterized by the presentation of an art collection in a knowledgeable way. Machine processes are characterized by their capacity to manage and analyze large amounts of data. This paper envisages AI curation and audience interaction to explore the implications of contemporary machine learning models for the curatorial world. This project was developed for the occasion of the 2023 Helsinki Art Biennial, entitled New Directions May Emerge. We use the Helsinki Art Museum (HAM) collection to re-imagine the city of Helsinki through the lens of machine perception. We use visual-textual models to place indoor artworks in public spaces, assigning fictional coordinates based on similarity scores. We transform the space that each artwork inhabits in the city by generating synthetic 360 art panoramas. We guide the generation estimating depth values from 360 panoramas at each artwork location, and machine-generated prompts of the artworks. The result of this project is an AI curation that places the artworks in their imagined physical space, blurring the lines of artwork, context, and machine perception. The work is virtually presented as a web-based installation on this link http://newlyformedcity.net/, where users can navigate an alternative version of the city while exploring and interacting with its cultural heritage at scale.

An online event organised by the Royal Society, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Max Planck Society took place on 7 October. It focussed on AI in Europe and considered topics such as European collaboration, trustworthy AI and the role of regulation. Involved in the discussion were Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society, Antoine Petit, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Martin Stratmann, President of the Max Planck Society. We also heard from Marta Kwiatkowska (University of Oxford), Stéphane Mallat (Collège de France) and Nuria Oliver (Commissioner for AI Strategy and Data Science, Valencian Region, and also representing ELLIS). You can watch the event in full below. It was noted that Europe has been a leader in considering the social and ethical implications of AI.

The Matthias Mann lab at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry is a leader in the field of mass spectrometry-based proteomics and has pushed the development and application of this technology for over two decades. The Fabian Theis lab at the Helmholtz Center Munich has a long-standing reputation for pioneering machine learning and AI methods in molecular biology, in particular on single-cell genomics and microscopy. They have recently joined forces in a project to develop novel deep learning techniques for peptide analysis and predictions on multiple levels, which potentially revolutionizes proteomic workflows in terms of accuracy and efficiency. Together the Theis and Mann labs are looking for two highly motivated postdoc candidates for working in a team that will combine newest developments in both Machine Learning and proteomics. This technology will be applied to the diagnosis and prognosis of disease on the basis of MS-based proteomics.

Give us your feedback Thank you for your feedback. Germany's Max Planck Society creates Nobel Prize winners. Most recently, in 2014, physicist Stefan Hell, one of its scholars, was recognised for a breakthrough in microscope technology, allowing much smaller structures -- less than 200 nanometres -- to be seen. Commercialising this kind of highbrow abstract research, however, has been a different matter. While the alumni of California's Stanford University have filled Silicon Valley with start-ups, Germany's research institutes have not created clusters on the same scale.

When Stefan Kai Schaal decided to earn more money in the future, he took a leave of absence. It took the researcher more than two years to integrate his new German life seamlessly and inconspicuously into his old American life. Schaal's employer, the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, was accommodating. It granted the renowned computer scientist the sabbatical in the middle of the semester - a sabbatical he had applied for on the day he was thrown out of his home and his wife filed for divorce after nine years of marriage. That was six years ago.

Germany's Max Planck Society creates Nobel Prize winners. Most recently, in 2014, physicist Stefan Hell, one of its scholars, was recognised for a breakthrough in microscope technology, allowing much smaller structures -- less than 200 nanometres -- to be seen. Commercialising this kind of highbrow abstract research, however, has been a different matter. While the alumni of California's Stanford University have filled Silicon Valley with start-ups, Germany's research institutes have not created clusters on the same scale. A new tech hub -- Cyber Valley -- in southern Germany between Stuttgart and Tübingen, is attempting to create new kinds of collaboration between academics and businesses.

Give us your feedback Thank you for your feedback. Germany's Max Planck Society creates Nobel Prize winners. Most recently, in 2014, physicist Stefan Hell, one of its scholars, was recognised for a breakthrough in microscope technology, allowing much smaller structures -- less than 200 nanometres -- to be seen. Commercialising this kind of highbrow abstract research, however, has been a different matter. While the alumni of California's Stanford University have filled Silicon Valley with start-ups, Germany's research institutes have not created clusters on the same scale.

Today, Amazon and the Max Planck Society announced that they intend to enter into a strategic collaboration to promote research in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Amazon plans to build an Amazon Research Center adjacent to the campus of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Tuebingen. As part of the Cyber Valley initiative, the new center intends to bring together international key players from science and industry to concentrate their research activities in the field of AI. Amazon plans to invest 1.25 million Euro over the coming years to fund research groups in Tuebingen's Cyber Valley tech initiative. Cyber Valley was launched in December 2016 and focuses on AI research, such as robotics, machine learning and computer vision.

Over the coming years, the technology company Amazon – like the other Cyber Valley partners from industry – will contribute € 1.25 million to setting up research groups in the Stuttgart and Tübingen region. The Max Planck Society, the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, the universities of Stuttgart and Tübingen as well as companies such as BMW, Bosch, Daimler, IAV, Porsche and ZF Friedrichshafen have joined forces in the collaboration project to drive forward research on intelligent systems and to create an environment for more successful start-ups. The first research groups planned as part of the initiative are currently being set up. "With Amazon joining the Cyber Valley, our idea to create a fruitful environment for business activities will gain momentum by expanding AI research in the Stuttgart and Tübingen area," indicated Martin Stratmann. "Only by bringing together world-class research and entrepreneurial spirit can we create the breeding ground for innovations that may prove to be technological breakthroughs in the future." Other Amazon projects also support the goal of turning Cyber Valley into a creative hotspot for scientific progress and economically successful innovation.