Vignettes from using AI for CS research
Prabhakar Raghavan (Google)
Distinguished Lecture Series
Thursday, October 22, 2026, 3:30 pm
Gates Center (CSE2), G20 | Amazon Auditorium
Abstract
In this talk we will cover three vignettes in computer science research using LLMs, covering results in combinatorics and complexity theory, in anomalous behavior by LLMs in geospatial reasoning, and in a game-theoretic study of the impact of accelerated research on scientists' incentives. These vignettes form a progression of work over a three year period, and this progression parallels the growing abilities of LLMs to conduct "push button" research in the abstract sciences - where validation is entirely in silico, without an in vitro or in vivo element. The series raises deeper questions on the changing face of CS research, training graduate students, and the assessment of scientific output.
BIO
Prabhakar Raghavan is the Chief Technologist at Google. He was previously Senior Vice President for Google's Knowledge & Information products, including Google Search, Maps, Ads and Payments. Prabhakar is an authority on web search, with over 20 years of research spanning algorithms, information retrieval, and databases. He is the co-author of two widely-used graduate texts, Randomized Algorithms and Introduction to Information Retrieval. Prior to joining Google, he founded and led Yahoo! Labs. He also served as chief technology officer at Verity, and held various positions during 14 years at IBM Research. Prabhakar received a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley; he is a Fellow of the IEEE, Fellow of the ACM, member of the US National Academy of Engineering, and recipient of a Dottore ad honorem from the University of Bologna.
This lecture will be recorded and streamed live on the Allen School's YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@uwcse), unless otherwise noted. The link will be available on that page one hour prior to the event.
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