During Tuesday’s Google I/O keynote, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, stated that we are currently 'standing in the foothills of the singularity.' This remark, however, was juxtaposed with a demonstration of WeatherNext, a weather prediction tool that helped provide advance warnings for Hurricane Melissa’s landfall in Jamaica. While the tool’s real-world impact is significant, it does not yet represent the kind of autonomous scientific research that agentic AI systems could achieve. Hassabis emphasized the role of AI as a tool for scientists, rather than a replacement, as the company shifts its focus toward systems that can perform research with minimal human input. Google has released specialized AI tools like AlphaFold and WeatherNext, which remain popular among researchers. However, recent moves, such as John Jumper’s shift to AI coding, indicate a realignment of resources and priorities. The company also unveiled the Gemini for Science package, which includes systems like Co-Scientist and AlphaEvolve, aimed at accelerating scientific discovery. Scientists involved in early testing expressed enthusiasm for these tools, though they acknowledge the need for human expertise in verifying scientific results. *Source: [mittr](https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/22/1137813/google-i-o-showed-how-the-path-for-ai-science-is-shifting/)*