Science and artificial intelligence: the future of research
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Artificial intelligence is changing the way science is done, opening up new ways to analyse data, generate hypotheses and speed up discovery.
But will it change only how we do research, or also what we choose to study? Could a machine uncover what we have not yet learnt to ask? If it finds an answer, will we understand how it got there? Can we trust a discovery we cannot explain? What room will there be for doubt, creativity and chance in the science of the future? And how do we prepare a new generation of scientists for discoveries we cannot yet imagine?
These are some of the questions to be discussed at the conference, which brings together representatives of the Gulbenkian Foundation, the Portuguese Government and the scientific community.
By putting these perspectives in dialogue, the conference aims to encourage an informed discussion of the relationship between science and artificial intelligence, and of what it will take for technological progress to produce rigorous knowledge and benefit society.
The conference is part of the Gulbenkian New Talents Scholarships programme, which identifies and supports exceptional students and introduces them to research.
Biographies
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Carolina Figueiredo
Carolina Figueiredo is a member of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. She graduated from Instituto Superior Técnico and completed her PhD in Physics at Princeton University in 2026. Her research focuses on the mathematical structures of particle physics and cosmology, and she received the 2026 Vera Rubin New Frontiers Prize. She was a Gulbenkian New Talents Scholar in Mathematics.
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João Pedro Araújo
João Pedro Araújo is a lecturer at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon and a researcher in computer graphics and robotics. He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico and a PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University. His research explores the capture and generation of human movement and its application to humanoid robot learning. He was a Gulbenkian New Talents scholar in Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence.
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João Viana
João Viana is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto—where he completed his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees—and a researcher in theoretical and computational physics, working on quantum systems, advanced materials and complex systems. He is also committed to teaching, science communication and talent development. He sits on the Physics scientific committee of Gulbenkian New Talents Scholarship.
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Leonor Godinho
Leonor Godinho is a professor in the Department of Mathematics at Instituto Superior Técnico and a member of the Center for Mathematical Analysis, Geometry and Dynamical Systems. She works on symplectic geometry and its connections with algebraic geometry and combinatorics. She graduated in Applied Mathematics and Computation from Técnico in 1993 and received her PhD in Mathematics from SUNY Stony Brook in 1999. She sits on the Mathematics scientific committee of Gulbenkian New Talents Scholarship.
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Mário Figueiredo
Mário Figueiredo is a Full Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico, with the title of Distinguished Professor, and holds the Feedzai Chair in Machine Learning. He has a PhD and Habilitation in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Técnico and is a researcher and group leader at Instituto de Telecomunicações. A Fellow of the IEEE, EURASIP, IAPR and ELLIS and a full member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, he received the EURASIP Technical Achievement Award and the IEEE W. R. G. Baker Award.
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Sara Magno
Sara Magno holds a degree in Psychology from the University of Coimbra and is a PhD candidate at the same university’s Centre for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioural Intervention and at the Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering of the University of Lisbon. She is completing the professional traineeship for admission to the Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses. She was a Gulbenkian New Talents scholar in Social Sciences.
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Sofia Miguens
Sofia Miguens is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Porto, where she leads the Mind, Language and Action Group. She was a visiting professor at NYU, Institut Jean Nicod and the University of Sydney, and president of the Portuguese Philosophical Society. She works on philosophy of mind, epistemology and philosophy of language. She is the author of Pre-Reflective Consciousness: Sartre and Contemporary Philosophy. She is on the Humanities scientific committee of Gulbenkian New Talents Scholarship.