Discovery Foundation Models: Toward Open-Ended Discovery Intelligence

A research paper argues that foundation models are moving from learning and reasoning over existing knowledge toward learning through action, tool use, and outcome feedback, and that the next frontier is a further transition from solving and acting within human-specified problems to participating in open-ended discovery. The paper frames this emerging direction as "Discovery Foundation Models" and positions it as the path toward open-ended discovery intelligence.

Foundation models have progressed from learning and reasoning over existing knowledge, to increasingly learning through action, tool use, and outcome feedback. We argue that the next frontier is a further transition: from solving and acting within problems specified by humans to participating in the