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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Artificial intelligence has long become part of our everyday lives—from search engines and language models to medical applications. Yet its greatest potential may lie not simply in solving existing tasks more efficiently, but in fundamentally transforming science itself. The new Hector Fellow Academy video portrait, “AI in Science: How AI Is Changing the Questions We Ask – Klaus-Robert Müller,” explores how artificial intelligence is enabling new discoveries and why it is set to shape the future of research for years to come.
Klaus-Robert Müller, Professor of Machine Learning at the Technical University of Berlin and Director of the Berlin Institute for the Foundations of Learning and Data (BIFOLD), is one of the world's leading researchers in artificial intelligence. He has been a member of the Hector Fellow Academy since 2023. His research focuses on explainable AI systems and on how machine learning methods can help scientists across a wide range of disciplines uncover previously hidden patterns in complex data and formulate entirely new research questions.
For Klaus-Robert Müller, the true value of AI lies not in the race to build ever more powerful algorithms, but in its use as a tool for scientific discovery. As he explains in the video portrait: "When we bring AI into the sciences so that it enables new discoveries - whether in medicine, quantum mechanics, or other fields - it has a much more lasting impact. In a sense, you're giving the gold miners shovels, and with those they can keep digging for another hundred years." Whether in quantum chemistry, materials science, or medicine, artificial intelligence is becoming an essential tool for scientific research.
Another key focus of the film is explainable artificial intelligence (XAI). While modern AI systems often deliver remarkable results, the decision-making processes behind them frequently remain difficult to understand. This transparency is particularly crucial in sensitive fields such as medicine, where trust in AI-assisted diagnoses and treatment decisions depends on being able to explain how conclusions are reached. The practical application of explainable AI is illustrated through the work of Laure Ciernik, a doctoral researcher in Klaus-Robert Müller's team whose PhD project is funded by the Hector Fellow Academy. She is developing machine learning methods that use genetic data to classify brain tumors more accurately, with the long-term goal of reducing the need for invasive cranial procedures for patients.
Klaus-Robert Müller's research highlights the transformative potential of artificial intelligence for science. AI enables researchers to reveal complex relationships, generate new research questions, and accelerate scientific discovery across a broad range of disciplines. In this way, artificial intelligence is far more than a technology for everyday life - it is becoming a key driver of the science of tomorrow.
The Hector Fellow Academy regularly publishes video portraits featuring researchers from its network. These videos provide accessible insights into the diverse research projects of Hector Fellows and early-career scientists, offering audiences the opportunity to learn more about the Hector Fellow Academy and its work. The new video portrait is now available online.
Link to the video portrait:
Englisch: https://youtu.be/KQxokIDHOJo
German: https://youtu.be/9zdmwqlGqBs
About the Hector Fellow Academy
The Hector Fellow Academy was founded in 2013 by Hans-Werner Hector, one of the founders of the software company SAP. His vision was to strengthen Germany as a leading center for research and science, foster forward-looking public discourse on societal challenges, and contribute to addressing global issues. Since then, more than 30 outstanding researchers from the natural sciences, engineering, medicine, and psychology have received the Hector Science Award, which is presented annually. At the time of receiving the award, all recipients were affiliated with a German university or research institution. The Academy provides its Hector Fellows with a platform for scientific exchange and supports collaborative interdisciplinary research projects. It is also committed to passing on the expertise and experience of its members to the next generation of researchers. To this end, the Hector Fellow Academy funds doctoral positions for graduates with outstanding master's degrees and has established the Hector Research Career Development Award (Hector RCD Award).
For more information, visit: https://hector-fellow-academy.de/
Prof. Dr. Klaus-Robert Müller, Technische Universität Berlin, Direktor von BIFOLD (Berlin Institute for the Foundations of Learning and Data)
AI in Science: How AI Is Changing the Questions We Ask – Klaus-Robert Müller
Copyright: © Hector Fellow Academy
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English
AI in Science: How AI Is Changing the Questions We Ask – Klaus-Robert Müller
Copyright: © Hector Fellow Academy
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