Seminar: Scientific Discovery in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Supercomputers
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) are rapidly becoming the engines of modern science. However, their joint effect on discovery has yet to be quantified at scale. Drawing on metadata from over five million scientific publications(2000–2024), we identify how AI and HPC interact to shape research outcomes across 27 fields. Papers combining the two technologies are up to three times more likely to introduce novel concepts and five times more likely to reach top-cited status than conventional work. This convergence of AI and HPC is redefining the frontier of scientific creativity but also deepening global inequalities in access to computational power and expertise. Our findings suggest that the future of discovery will depend not only on algorithms and compute, but also on how equitably the world shares these transformative tools.
Short Bio
Aldo Geuna is Full Professor of Economic Policy at the Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Torino, Fellow IEP, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), Fellow of the Collegio Carlo Alberto and Senior Research Associate at the Innovation Policy Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. He was Visiting Fellow at SIPER, Stanford University, Senior Lecturer at SPRU, University of Sussex, Senior Research Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute and Research Fellow at BETA, Université Louis Pasteur (Strasbourg). He has published several books and articles in refereed journals in the area of economics of science, economics of innovation and science and technology policy. He has had editorial responsibilities in Information Economics and Policy, Italian Economic Journal, Journal of Technology Transfer and Research Policy. He has been a member of various scientific committees, expert groups and panels in Italy, Sweden, the UK as well as for the OECD, the National Academies (US) and the EU. He has been an invited speaker in various European countries, the US, Canada, China and Korea. He taught as an invited visiting professor in Chile, France, Italy, Spain and Vietnam.