AI scientists are not just assistants, they can independently propose hypotheses for verification

The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High Level Conference on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence (WAIC) will be held in Shanghai from July 17th to 20th. During an interview with the Economic Observer, Wu Yue, Vice President of Beidou Digital Intelligence, stated that AI scientists are not just assistants, but can independently propose hypotheses and conduct online self verification through massive scientific literature, and hand over the verification results to researchers. In the past, it took several months or even one or two years to discover a high-quality protein molecule, but now AI can simulate a large number of experiments, significantly shorten the discovery cycle, and reduce the trial and error costs of new drug development.