The University of Chicago helped launch the inaugural International Conference on AI Scientists (ICAIS) in Beijing this November, bringing together seven Nobel laureates and leaders in AI-driven science for a groundbreaking event exploring the future of automated scientific discovery.

Held November 23-25, the conference was organized by James Evans (Faculty Co-Director of Novel Intelligence and Director of the Knowledge Lab) in partnership with UChicago Global, the UChicago Beijing Center, Zhongguancun Academy, Zhongguancun Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and Tsinghua and Westlake Universities.

The event featured Nobel laureates from across the sciences, including UChicago’s own James Heckman, alongside presentations and panels on AI-driven research. DSI Faculty James Evans and Chenhao Tan (Faculty Co-Director of Novel Intelligence) joined the discussion on how artificial intelligence is transforming scientific practice and showcased new AI-agent-based approaches to automate science.

New for scientific conferences, ICAIS invited AI-(co)authored papers and pioneered AI-driven review and evaluation of research (alongside Stanford’s recent Open Conference of AI Agents for Science 2025), with AI systems assessing work presented in parallel talk and poster sessions. The conference even featured “robot scientists,” or video-based AI systems, in conversation with Nobel laureates on stage, offering a glimpse into the future of scientific collaboration (though not without some technical hiccups: the AI systems deferentially paused for interjections, even by microphone echoes).

The event garnered massive attention in China, including primetime coverage by CCTV, representing a major milestone in global attention to AI-driven science.

Learn more about the conference at icais.ai.