Generative AI is reshaping the practice of science faster than many disciplines can absorb — from literature synthesis and hypothesis generation to coding, proof assistance, data analysis, and even drafting papers.

This panel brings together researchers from computer science, mathematics, physical sciences, biological sciences, and social science to compare how this shift is playing out across their fields, what it may mean for the future of research, and how researchers can respond thoughtfully.

Join us for a candid, cross-disciplinary conversation about what it means to grow as a scientist when the tools, timelines, and expectations of research are all changing at once.

PhD, Honours, and other research students from all disciplines are especially welcome.

What we'll discuss

The panel will explore questions including:

Where is AI genuinely accelerating scientific discovery, and where is it introducing new risks?
Which research values are worth defending, and which norms may need to evolve?

What should labs and the broader research community be doing now to adapt responsibly?
What advice should PhD students and early-career researchers keep in mind while navigating this shift?

The discussion will be followed by an open Q&A.

Moderator

	Alwen Tiu Associate Professor at the ANU School of Computing, working on formal methods, computational logic, automated theorem proving, and computer security, modelling computational systems to verify their correctness or uncover vulnerabilities.

Panelists

	Jing Jiang Professor at the ANU School of Computing and ACL Vice President–elect, whose recent natural language processing research focuses on evaluating and steering large language models’ behaviours, with applications in healthcare and data science.
	James Tener Associate Professor at the ANU Mathematical Sciences Institute and ARC Future Fellow, working on the mathematics of quantum field theory (conformal field theory, operator algebras, and vertex operator algebras), as well as serving as HDR Convener at MSI.
	Adrian Sheppard Professor at the ANU Research School of Physics in the Department of Materials Physics, whose research develops X-ray tomography, 3D image processing, using computational modelling methods, and increasingly various flavours of AI, to understand complex materials and porous structures.
	Justin Borevitz Professor at the ANU Research School of Biology, whose lab combines genomics, high-throughput phenomic imaging, and large-scale data analysis, including genome-wide association studies and landscape genomics, to uncover the genetic basis of plant climate adaptation.
	Rachael Brown Associate Professor at the ANU School of Philosophy and Director of the Centre for Philosophy of the Sciences. She works at the intersection of philosophy of biology, cognitive science, and philosophy of science, with particular interests in the evolution of cognition and behaviour, evolutionary developmental biology, model-based reasoning, and the methods used to study animal behaviour and cognition.
	Louise Lu Professor at the ANU College of Business and Economics and Co-Director of ANCAAR, whose research analyses large volumes of corporate disclosures and executive communications for signals like risk, tone, and comparability — the kind of expert-driven, judgment-intensive work that AI and text-analysis tools are now starting to reshape.

Schedule

11:00 am–12:15 pm
Panel discussion and Q&A

12:15–1:00 pm
Informal discussion over snacks and a light lunch

Venue

Hanna Neumann Building, Room 1.33
Australian National University

Hosted by the ANU Integrated AI Network.

Learn more about the network and its activities at ai.anu.edu.au/news.

Organised by: Lexing Xie, Rahul Shome, Oliver Xi, Yue Liu
For questions about the event, accessibility requirements, or assistance with a visitor Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP), please contact the organising team.

Scientific Research in the Age of Gen AI: Change, Disruption, and What We Choose to Keep

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