Matthew Schwartz on finding Claude-shaped science problems with BootLoops
AIPhysicist Matthew Schwartz describes building BootLoops, an open-source harness for exact quantitative calculations, after choosing problems suited to Claude's strengths. He reports that Claude solved long-standing integrals and found connections across ecology, population genetics, economics, and linguistics, with domain experts steering results toward questions those fields care about. The post states that the approach required constant human oversight, since Claude often overstated results and misjudged time.
Why it matters: The guest post explains why scientists often find current AI tools frustrating and offers a method for finding problems where AI and researchers match, backed by concrete projects.