The world's first AI agent system for scientific research, OmniScientist, was launched on Sunday at the first International Conference on AI Scientists (ICAIS 2025) in Beijing.
OmniScientist, which supports comprehensive scientific talent cultivation, was officially released by Zhongguancun Academy (ZGCA) and Zhongguancun Institute of Artificial Intelligence (ZGCI) during the conference.
Focusing on AI-driven scientific innovation, ICAIS 2025 brought together multidisciplinary experts from China and abroad to explore AI's crucial role in future technological development.
Centering on the core theme of "AI Scientists," this year's conference examined AI's evolution from research assistant to intelligent scientific "partner."
"Now we are trying to work on smart materials, dynamic materials with properties which are close to those of the biological systems, like materials which can self-heal, self-repair. You scratch your car and it will repair by itself," said Konstantin Novoselov, Nobel Laureate in Physics in 2010, a ICAIS 2025 participant.
These complex systems are challenging to design using traditional methods, but machine learning can be very helpful, he added.
OmniScientist aims to become an "indispensable co-creation partner" for young scientists throughout their development. It establishes an intelligent support framework covering the entire research workflow, deeply integrated from literature review and idea generation to experimental design and paper writing. The system features digital twin agents of globally renowned scientists, teachers, and researchers who can accompany young researchers, provide inspiration and advice, and grow alongside students.
"AI can search all online literature and help students summarize the information, while also refining their viewpoints. They might discover their ideas are actually outdated, something they weren't aware of [until using AI]. This will significantly enhance students' research literacy. By developing such an AI research assistance system, we can accelerate students' learning cycle, enrich their store of knowledge, and help them identify new research directions for solving future problems," said Liu Tieyan, president of ZGCA.
The conference, hosted by ZGCA, ZGCI, Tsinghua University, Westlake University and the University of Chicago, will run through Tuesday.
World's first AI agent system for scientific research launched in Beijing
