Human scientists trounce the best AI agents on complex tasks

3 min read Original article ↗
  • NEWS

State-of-the-industry report finds that, despite the limitations of artificial-intelligence systems, researchers have embraced them.

In an indication of how quickly scientists are embracing artificial intelligence, the number of publications in the natural sciences that mention AI grew almost 30-fold from 2010 to 2025, according to an influential annual state-of-the-field report.

Access options

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

$32.99 / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 52 print issues and online access

$199.00 per year

only $3.83 per issue

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 652, 841-842 (2026)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01199-z

References

  1. Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI. Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2026 (Stanford-HAI, 2026).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Wang, D. et al. Preprint at arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2510.10909 (2025).

Download references

Subjects

Latest on: