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Science in the age of large language models

Nature Reviews Physics volume 5, pages 277–280 (2023)Cite this article

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Rapid advances in the capabilities of large language models and the broad accessibility of tools powered by this technology have led to both excitement and concern regarding their use in science. Four experts in artificial intelligence ethics and policy discuss potential risks and call for careful consideration and responsible usage to ensure that good scientific practices and trust in science are not compromised. 

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Acknowledgements

The work of S.W. is supported through research funding provided by the Wellcome Trust (grant nr 223765/Z/21/Z), Sloan Foundation (grant no. G-2021-16779), the Department of Health and Social Care (via the AI Lab at NHSx) and Luminate Group to support the Trustworthiness Auditing for AI project and Governance of Emerging Technologies research programme at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mozilla Foundation and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Abeba Birhane

  2. The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Atoosa Kasirzadeh

  3. The Alan Turing Institute, London, UK

    Atoosa Kasirzadeh & David Leslie

  4. Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

    David Leslie

  5. University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Sandra Wachter

Authors
  1. Abeba Birhane
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  2. Atoosa Kasirzadeh
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  3. David Leslie
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  4. Sandra Wachter
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Contributions

A.B. is cognitive scientist researching human behaviour, social systems and responsible and ethical AI. She is a Senior Fellow in Trustworthy AI at Mozilla Foundation and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

A.K. is a philosopher and ethicist of science and emerging technologies, an applied mathematician and an engineer. Currently, she is a tenure-track assistant professor and a Chancellor’s Fellow in the Philosophy department and the Director of Research at the Centre for Technomoral Futures in the Futures Institute at the University of Edinburgh. Her recent work is focused on the implications of machine learning, in particular large language models and other models for science, society and humanity.

S.W. is Professor of Technology and Regulation at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford where she researches the legal and ethical implications of AI, Big Data and robotics as well as Internet and platform regulation. At the OII, she leads and coordinates the Governance of Emerging Technologies (GET) Research Programme that investigates legal, ethical and technical aspects of AI, machine learning and other emerging technologies.

D.L. is Professor of Ethics, Technology and Society at Queen Mary University of London and the Director of Ethics and Responsible Innovation Research at The Alan Turing Institute. He is a philosopher and social theorist, whose research focuses on the ethics of emerging technologies, AI governance, data justice and the social and ethical impacts of AI, machine learning and data-driven innovations.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Abeba Birhane, Atoosa Kasirzadeh, David Leslie or Sandra Wachter.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Birhane, A., Kasirzadeh, A., Leslie, D. et al. Science in the age of large language models. Nat Rev Phys 5, 277–280 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-023-00581-4

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