The scientific method was designed to break consensus through falsification. But the institution of science has evolved to optimize for career preservation and funding continuity.

Those two things are in direct conflict. And AI is about to make it worse.

Federal grants go through peer review panels staffed by establishment researchers who fund work that builds on their frameworks. Tenure depends on publications approved by the same gatekeepers.

The result is that only the independently wealthy can afford to pursue heterodox research. Everyone else self censors to survive.

Now add AI to the loop.

Human gatekeeping → biased research → biased training data → biased AI → AI reinforces consensus → funding follows AI → repeat.

Each cycle gets harder to break because the machine gets more authoritative and more efficient at marginalizing dissent.

We are not automating discovery. We are automating orthodoxy.