Max Welling on AI, Molecules, and the Future of Intelligence – Physics for Future – Ep. 6

Описание: Welcome back to Physics for Future, a series of conversations with scientists shaping tomorrow.
This video is part of a special collection featuring conversations with world-class researchers — recorded during Physics for Future, an event held on 14–15 May 2025 by the Department of Physics and Materials Science at the University of Luxembourg.

If you couldn’t join us live, nothing is lost. We're publishing 10 episodes, one every week, featuring speakers from the event and researchers from our department.

In this episode, we speak with Prof. Max Welling, Research Chair in Machine Learning at the University of Amsterdam and co-founder of a materials design startup.

Max’s work explores how artificial intelligence can revolutionise the discovery of new materials — for better batteries, more effective drugs, carbon capture solutions, and solar technologies. By combining AI with physics and chemistry, we can speed up discoveries that might otherwise take decades.

As a child, Max used to stare at the stars and sketch ideas for nuclear reactors, driven by curiosity and wonder. That thrill never left him. Today, it fuels his work on systems that might soon rival human intelligence — raising deep questions about creativity, consciousness, and what it means to be human.

Max believes machine learning is changing not just what we discover, but how we do science. New technologies often come with fear or misunderstanding, but scientists — he says — must help society navigate them: minimizing harm, maximizing potential.

Let us know what inspired you in the comments.
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More about Physics for Future: https://www.uni.lu/fstm-en/conference...

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