Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
Recorded as part of the CFvW Colloquium on July 2, 2025
The Limits of Scientific Realism in the Age of AI -
Mark Fischer (University of Heidelberg)
Abstract:
The quantitative effects of computational methods publicly known as "artificial intelligence" (AI) used by scientific research raise questions about possible consequences for the philosophy of science. The following argument will be advanced: well-known disputes concerning the limits of scientific knowledge, which are supported by relevant arguments of methodological and normative pluralism for the betterment of science and relativism arguing for non-separable normativity in science, still serve as a noteworthy resource in countering any over-optimism associated with novel AI-driven realism. Consequently, while AI exhibits considerable potential in terms of its ability to transform the landscape of scientific research, it falls short of addressing the fundamental challenges of a too narrow scientific realism.
Recorded as part of the CFvW Colloquium on July 2, 2025
The Limits of Scientific Realism in the Age of AI -
Mark Fischer (University of Heidelberg)
Abstract:
The quantitative effects of computational methods publicly known as "artificial intelligence" (AI) used by scientific research raise questions about possible consequences for the philosophy of science. The following argument will be advanced: well-known disputes concerning the limits of scientific knowledge, which are supported by relevant arguments of methodological and normative pluralism for the betterment of science and relativism arguing for non-separable normativity in science, still serve as a noteworthy resource in countering any over-optimism associated with novel AI-driven realism. Consequently, while AI exhibits considerable potential in terms of its ability to transform the landscape of scientific research, it falls short of addressing the fundamental challenges of a too narrow scientific realism.
