Artificial intelligence (IA) is no longer limited to creative or administrative tasks. It is opening new possibilities for science and human knowledge about the world. Here are five areas that AI is already transforming.
Currently, scientists can decipher electrons, create materials and even “communicate” with trees. General AI tools are accelerating the rhythm of investigations and revealing insights About everything, from the cells of the human body to the ecosystems that support them.
During the first half of 2025, Microsoft published several scientific articles in magazines and launched new tools and collaborations in areas such as medicine, energy, biology and quantum physics.
The goal, according to the CEO of Microsoft Research, Peter LeeIt is to accelerate the way scientists exploit complex issues and translate their findings into real impact through a powerful, practical and reliable AI.
After all, what are the five areas where AI is already making a difference Tangible and where can the next advances be imminent?
Health: Faster diagnosis and personalized care
As Microsoft says, in a statement sent to ZAP, AI is becoming an essential partner in health care, not only by automating tasks, but also by allowing clinicians and researchers to see more, understand faster and act earlier.
From clinical notes to pathology blades, multimodal models analyze large volumes of unmordial data to identify patterns that help detect disease and guide personalized treatments.
Scientific discovery: from hypothesis to innovation in less time
AI is accelerating scientific research to analyze complex data and simulate natural processes on a scale and speed previously impossible.
Microsoft’s new AI model for Density Functional Theory (DFT), for example, is solving a 60 -year challenge in material science by quickly and accurately simulating electrons behavior.
Applications range from the Drug Developmenta batteries e Ecological fertilizers.
Environment: Understand and protect the planet
AI is being applied in a practical way to help scientists better understand the complex systems of Earth and face environmental challenges.
Several projects are applying AI to innovative sustainability challenges.
Researchers at Microsoft and Washington University are developing a low carbon cement, mixing seaweed biomass to create a more sustainable building material.
Avanade’s Intelligent Garden application “communicates” with urban trees through sensors that monitor data such as humidity, air quality and growth patterns, translating them into a comprehensive health report.
In Tanzania, AI is being used to help conservationists monitor and protect giraffes in danger, analyzing drone images and identifying animals by their patterns of blemishes.
Quantum Computing: simulate the invisible
Quantum computing is expanding the limits of scientific research to allow simulations of the natural world that conventional computers cannot perform.
While traditional systems process bits information (some and zeros), quantum computers use quibits, which can represent multiple values simultaneously.
This allows explore various possibilities at the same timebeing especially useful for modeling complex systems such as chemical reactions or material behavior.
These innovations offer researchers new ways to model problems in areas where classical computing reaches their limits, such as health, materials and climate.
Energy: more efficient production and storage
Finally, AI is playing an increasingly relevant role in the way energy is produced, stored and used by optimizing existing systems and supporting new creation.
Microsoft, for example, collaborated with Nissan Motor Corporation in developing a machine learning method that accurately predicts the wear of electric vehicle batteries, reducing the need for long physical tests and helping to determine which batteries can be recycled.
AI is also accelerate the development of nuclear fusion energya long -term goal for clean energy production.
By simulating complex physical processes, scientists can test ideas faster and identify promising designs of reactors, bringing this technology closer to the power grid.
