Comment by MITSardine

There's a major difference between chess and scientific research: setting the objectives is itself part of the work.

In chess, there's a clear goal: beat the game according to this set of unambiguous rules.

In science, the goals are much more diffuse, and setting those in the first place is what makes a scientist more or less successful, not so much technical ability. It's a very hierarchical field where permanent researchers direct staff (postdocs, research scientists/engineers), direct grad students. And it's at the bottom of the pyramid where the technical ability is the most relevant/rewarded.

Research is very much a social game, and I think replacing it with something run by LLMs (or other automatic process) is much more than a technical challenge.