San Francisco Symposium to Map the Future of AI-Driven Science

The three-day event, scheduled for November 5–7, marks a pivotal moment for the Chen Institute as it nears its tenth anniversary. While the organization originally focused on brain and mind research, its mandate has expanded to encompass the integration of artificial intelligence across all scientific disciplines. Organizers intend for the symposium to serve as a catalyst for cross-pollination, bringing together experts from mathematics, neuroscience, synthetic biology, and computer science to refine the process of hypothesis generation and evidence evaluation.

Beyond the lecture halls, the conference will host the 2026 Chen Institute & Science Prize for AI Accelerated Research. This year’s award honors Sergey Stavisky, an associate professor at UC Davis, for his development of AI-powered brain-computer interfaces capable of translating neural signals into real-time synthetic speech. Stavisky joins an agenda featuring industry heavyweights including Daphne Koller, Jeffrey Ullman, and Yejin Choi, all of whom are tasked with examining the practical limits and potential of autonomous discovery tools. For the Chen Institute, which has directed over $150 million into global research ecosystems, the symposium represents a strategic push to bridge the gap between speculative AI development and tangible scientific advancement.