Zelenskyy Offers to Resign for Peace, China Launches Underwater Computing Cluster, and Google Unveils AI Co-Scientist

We're experimenting and would love to hear from you!

In this episode of ‘Discover Daily’, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stuns the world by offering to resign in exchange for NATO membership or peace with Russia, amid escalating geopolitical tensions and U.S. demands for rare earth mineral concessions. Meanwhile, China deploys a revolutionary underwater computing cluster off Hainan Island—a 30,000-gaming-PC-powered fortress cooled by seawater, slashing energy costs by 45% while sparking debates about digital sovereignty in disputed waters.

The episode’s main story explores Google’s groundbreaking AI co-scientist, which replicated a decade-long bacterial evolution study in 48 hours and identified repurposed drugs for liver fibrosis. Built on the Gemini 2.0 platform, this multi-agent system combines chess-style hypothesis tournaments with neural auditing trails, accelerating discoveries while navigating ethical minefields like "black box" transparency and Big Pharma’s bidding wars for exclusive access.

From Perplexity's Discover Feed:

https://www.perplexity.ai/page/zelenskyy-offers-to-resign-for-SzTnvpWoQ6uQOQ70GycwnQ

https://www.perplexity.ai/page/china-launches-underwater-comp-_SRMVJXjQc2LLmJsq2_2zQ

https://www.perplexity.ai/page/google-unveils-ai-co-scientist-NZDe0.6QTtSb60pv5D7ntg

Introducing Perplexity Deep Research:

https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-perplexity-deep-research 

Perplexity is the fastest and most powerful way to search the web. Perplexity crawls the web and curates the most relevant and up-to-date sources (from academic papers to Reddit threads) to create the perfect response to any question or topic you’re interested in.

Take the world's knowledge with you anywhere. Available on iOS and Android

Join our growing Discord community for the latest updates and exclusive content.

Follow us on:

• Instagram
• Threads
• X (Twitter)
• YouTube
• Linkedin

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Discover Daily by Perplexity, an
AI-generated show on tech,science and culture.
I'm Alex.
Today we're exploring how AI isreshaping scientific research
with Google's new co-scientist.
But first let's look at whatelse is happening across global
politics and technology.

(00:22):
Across global politics andtechnology.
In a surprising move, ukrainianPresident Volodymyr Zelensky has
offered to resign from hisposition in exchange for either
peace in Ukraine or NATOmembership for his country.
This offer comes amid ongoingtensions with Russia and recent
criticism from Donald Trump.

(00:43):
During a conference in Kiev,zelensky stated if you need me
to leave this chair, I am readyto do that and I also can
exchange it for NATO membershipfor Ukraine.
This unprecedented proposaldemonstrates Zelensky's
commitment to Ukraine'swell-being and security as the

(01:04):
country approaches thethree-year mark since Russia's
invasion.
Ukraine has been under martiallaw since 2022, which has
significantly impacted thecountry's political landscape,
including the postponement ofelections originally scheduled
for 2024.
Zelensky's offer comes as arebuttal to accusations of

(01:26):
authoritarianism, highlightingthe complex challenges faced by
Ukraine's leadership inbalancing democratic ideals with
wartime necessities.
But Ukraine's path to NATOmembership remains challenging
due to ongoing conflict withRussia and complex geopolitical
considerations.
Recent surveys reveal a nuancedpicture of public opinion

(01:52):
regarding Zelensky's leadership,while he maintains substantial
domestic and internationalsupport, with 69% of Ukrainians
believing he should remain inpower until martial law ends.
Opinions vary significantlyacross different demographics
and regions.

(02:12):
Moving on to technologicaladvancements, china has deployed
an underwater intelligentcomputing cluster off the coast
of Hainan, delivering processingpower equivalent to 30,000
high-end gaming PCs.
The Hynan Underwater DataCenter is the world's first
commercial underwater datacenter project.

(02:34):
It began operations in March2023 and has recently expanded
its capabilities.
This new data module, measuring18 meters in length and 3.6
meters in diameter, canaccommodate over 400
high-performance servers.
This expansion hassignificantly enhanced the

(02:54):
cluster's capabilities, enablingit to process massive amounts
of data for various applications, including scientific computing
, industrial calculations andlarge-scale AI model training.
One of the key advantages ofthis underwater data center is
its use of seawater as a naturalcoolant, which significantly

(03:16):
reduces energy consumptioncompared to traditional
land-based data centers.
The method improves energyefficiency by 40 to 60 percent
and eliminates the need forcomplex cooling systems and air
conditioning units.
The underwater computingcluster has already attracted
significant commercial interest,with 10 companies signing

(03:39):
contracts to utilize itscomputing power.
Applications range from AImodel training and industrial
simulation to game developmentand marine scientific research.

(04:01):
Now let's dive deeper into ourmain story of the day Google's
unveiling of an AI co-scientistbuilt on its Gemini 2.0 platform
.
This system aims to strengthenscientific research by
generating novel hypotheses andaccelerating the discovery
process.

(04:21):
The AI co-scientist employs amulti-agent system that mirrors
the scientific method to assistresearchers in formulating
research directions andanalyzing existing literature.
Key features include thegeneration of testable
hypotheses based on naturallanguage research queries,

(04:42):
tournament-style evaluationusing ELO ratings to refine
proposals, and integration withscientific literature and public
datasets.
Early demonstrations of the AIco-scientist's capabilities have
yielded impressive resultsacross various scientific
domains.
For instance, it successfullymatched unpublished discoveries

(05:06):
at Stanford University andImperial College London,
showcasing its ability togenerate cutting-edge hypotheses
.
In the field of antimicrobialresistance research, it
identified a novel gene transfermechanism.
Resistance research, itidentified a novel gene transfer
mechanism, while in medicalresearch, it proposed viable
drug candidates for liverfibrosis treatment.

(05:26):
The AI co-scientist generated ahypothesis about bacterial
evolution in just two days,replicating conclusions that
took human scientists atImperial College London a decade
to develop.
These early successes highlightthe potential of AI to
significantly acceleratescientific discovery processes

(05:48):
across multiple disciplines.
But the AI co-scientist facesseveral challenges and ethical
concerns.
Data quality and reliabilityremain potential issues, as the
system's output is only as goodas its input data.
Technical safeguards arenecessary to prevent unethical

(06:11):
research queries and ensureresponsible use of the
technology.
The black box nature of AIsystems in scientific research
has raised concerns abouttransparency and reproducibility
.
Additionally, there arequestions about the system's
broader applicability acrossdifferent scientific disciplines

(06:31):
and its potential impact ontraditional research
methodologies.
Despite these limitations,google emphasizes that the AI

(07:00):
co-scientist system through atrusted tester program.
This program allows selectresearch organizations to
evaluate and explore thetechnology's potential, assess
its strengths and limitations invarious scientific fields and
contribute to the responsibleexploration of AI-assisted

(07:20):
scientific discovery.
That's it for today.
Thanks for listening.
For more info on anything wecovered today, check out the

(07:41):
links in our episode description.
And don't forget you can nowaccess Perplexity's AI-powered
knowledge base on the go withthe mobile app available for
both Android and iOS.
There's also the Perplexitydesktop app for macOS.
In other Perplexity news, thecompany just launched Deep

(08:01):
Research, a powerful new featurethat digs deep into hundreds of
sources to create thoroughresearch reports.
The tool, which is free to tryand unlimited for pro users, can
tackle complex researchquestions in just minutes.
Early tests show it'sremarkably accurate, making it a

(08:22):
promising tool for anyoneneeding in-depth research
assistance.
We'll be back with more storiesthat matter.
Until then, stay curious.