Ken Stanley and the Open-Endedness Team

Fast Company has named Lila Sciences' CEO and co-founder @Geoffrey von Maltzahn one of its 2026 Tech Visionaries of the Year, recognizing him "for automating execution of the entire scientific method."

In three months, Lila Sciences’ AI-directed lab proposed, synthesized and screened 2,942 catalysts for green hydrogen, identifying 6 high-performing material families.

Open-ended search is core infrastructure for scientific superintelligence, according to AI researcher Ken Stanley. This profile of Stanley's open-endedness team explores why that approach is central to autonomous science.