The Waymo effect: how AI is quietly making research less collaborative
Summary
An essay arguing that frictionless AI, especially large language models, can erode collaboration in research by substituting machine reasoning for human dialogue. The piece warns that incentive structures and funding models reward speed over serendipity, risking reduced diversity of ideas unless institutions deliberately reintroduce friction and maintain human leadership in inquiry. It calls for funding friction, diverse AI approaches, and keeping humans in the front seat to preserve collaborative, reproducible science.