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What Will Analytical Science Look Like in 2036? Part One: The AI Age
Members of The Analytical Scientist’s 2026 Top 40 Under 40 consider how AI could reshape data interpretation, method development, instrumentation, and the work of analytical scientists – while warning against sacrificing understanding, rigor, or curiosity
Present expert perspectives on how artificial intelligence may shape analytical science over the coming years.
Approach:
Format: A collection of forecasts from researchers and industry scientists, rather than a report of a single study.
Topics: Contributors discuss AI in data analysis, experimental design, instrument operation, method development, and laboratory workflows.
Key Findings:
Contributors anticipate broader AI integration across analytical science, from instrument development and experiment planning to data interpretation and reporting.
Several experts foresee autonomous or lab-in-the-loop systems that use experimental results to guide subsequent experiments and optimize methods in real time.
AI-assisted analysis is expected to help interpret complex datasets, including multi-omics and high-resolution mass spectrometry data, and to identify patterns or compounds that may be difficult to detect with traditional approaches.
Experts describe structured, shared records of prior experiments as a way to make analytical knowledge more accessible and workflows more reproducible and transferable.
Contributors emphasize that scientists will continue to contribute through experimental design, question selection, and scientific judgment in evaluating AI-generated insights.
Interpretation:
The article presents expert expectations, not measured outcomes. Its contributors generally envision AI as integrated into analytical workflows while retaining a role for human expertise and scientific judgment.
Limitations:
The material consists of individual expert opinions and forecasts, not a systematic review or empirical study.
The supplied context ends partway through Francesca Rigano's contribution, so her full perspective is unavailable.
