Discovera16z PodcastColumbia CS Professor: Why LLMs Can’t Discover New Science
Columbia CS Professor: Why LLMs Can’t Discover New Science

Columbia CS Professor: Why LLMs Can’t Discover New Science

Update: 2025-10-13
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From GPT-1 to GPT-5, LLMs have made tremendous progress in modeling human language. But can they go beyond that to make new discoveries and move the needle on scientific progress?

We sat down with distinguished Columbia CS professor Vishal Misra to discuss this, plus why chain-of-thought reasoning works so well, what real AGI would look like, and what actually causes hallucinations.

 

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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.


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Columbia CS Professor: Why LLMs Can’t Discover New Science

Columbia CS Professor: Why LLMs Can’t Discover New Science

Vishal Misra, Erik Torenberg, Martin Casado