Soapbox Artificial Intelligence

Why a data scientist warns against always trusting AI’s scientific discoveries

Data-mining algorithms aren’t good at communicating uncertainty in results, Genevera Allen says

data mining illustration

MACHINE EUREKA  It’s risky to take scientific discoveries made by AI at face value until these computer programs get better at assessing their own uncertainty, says data scientist Genevera Allen.

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By Maria Temming

WASHINGTON — We live in a golden age of scientific data, with larger stockpiles of genetic information, medical images and astronomical observations than ever before.