{"slug": "machine-learning-reconfigures-science-from-inference-to-prediction", "title": "Machine Learning Reconfigures Science From Inference to Prediction", "summary": "Machine learning has fundamentally reoriented scientific practice from inference toward prediction, according to a new analysis of 4.9 million publications and 255 ML techniques by Malena Méndez Isla et al. The study identifies a core-periphery structure with physical sciences at the methodological core and health sciences as the largest adopters, and documents two waves of displacement: 2015-2021 driven by deep learning and post-2022 driven by reliance on external commercial models.", "body_md": "For AI and data-science practitioners, the paper highlights shifting trade-offs between predictive performance, interpretability, and reproducibility that affect model selection, evaluation, and research design. According to the arXiv preprint by Malena Méndez Isla et al., the authors analyze **4.9 million publications** and **255 ML techniques** to map how machine learning reshaped scientific practice across disciplines. The paper reports a core-periphery semantic structure with the **physical sciences** at the methodological core and **health sciences** as the largest adopters. It finds predictive techniques concentrated in computer science while inferential approaches remain distributed across applied fields, and documents two waves of displacement: **2015-2021** driven by deep learning and **post-2022** driven by reliance on external commercial models, per the arXiv preprint.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/machine-learning-reconfigures-science-from-inference-to-prediction", "canonical_source": "https://letsdatascience.com/news/machine-learning-reconfigures-science-from-inference-to-pred-b9a3d7e0", "published_at": "2026-07-09 04:00:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-09 05:17:58.456014+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["machine-learning", "artificial-intelligence", "ai-research"], "entities": ["Malena Méndez Isla", "arXiv"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/machine-learning-reconfigures-science-from-inference-to-prediction", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/machine-learning-reconfigures-science-from-inference-to-prediction.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/machine-learning-reconfigures-science-from-inference-to-prediction.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/machine-learning-reconfigures-science-from-inference-to-prediction.jsonld"}}