Nobel Prize-winning chemist Michael Levitt emphasized the importance of curiosity and artificial intelligence in scientific discovery during the 2026 World Laureates Forum in Shanghai, calling on young researchers worldwide to embrace both.
"It's important to ask good questions," said the 2013 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and Stanford University professor of structural biology. "AI is like talking to a person. AI has many answers. So you have to actually have curiosity."
This interactive approach, Levitt emphasized, requires both openness and skepticism — qualities essential to scientific progress.
"AI doesn't always tell me the right thing. Sometimes it tells me the wrong thing," he said. "It's very important not to believe everything. If AI tells me something, I would ask somebody else to get another answer. If two answers are the same, I will probably believe it.
"I'm so pleased to see now that AI is everywhere, especially in China. It's very strong," Levitt observed, noting China's rapid embrace of AI technology across educational and research sectors.
Beyond technology, Levitt sees his Nobel Prize as conferring a broader responsibility. "You can become like a diplomat of science," he said. "We want as many young people as we can in science, because science is very good for the world. You discover something that has a huge impact."
The WLF embodies this mission by creating rare intellectual exchanges between established luminaries and emerging researchers, according to Levitt.
"This morning, we had five amazingly good lectures in very different fields, lectures that would be almost impossible to hear anywhere else," he said. "At any time, there are five lectures I want to go to at the same time. For me, it's a real treat because of the lectures. I think for other people as well."
The forum's sustained focus on youth engagement particularly resonates with Levitt. "Young people are really the focus. The new ideas always come from young people," he noted. "The future is young people in all fields."
Levitt's own international career — spanning multiple countries and continents — mirrors science's borderless nature. His Stanford research group included talent from India, China, Europe and South America. "Science is international. My work is on my computer, so I can work here," he said, adding that he feels "very at home in China".
Looking ahead, he emphasized stability and youth engagement as priorities for the forum's continued success in fostering international scientific collaboration.
