I’ve tested the latest generation of all the major AIs on theoretical physics research and Claude 4.6 has absolutely blown me away with how capable it is in physics. It feels like a Claude Code moment for research is not that far off.
It has a very detailed understanding of existing literature, and it’s able to do complex calculations that are several pages long, often without mistakes. It can also write amazing 20 page tutorials that help break down difficult technical topics in QFT and condensed matter physics. This is a huge difference compared to last year’s models, which would make tons of mistakes and were way too vague when you asked them to write formulas. Claude is still far (far) away from solving quantum gravity, but you can have a serious discussion with it about existing approaches and it can help you iterate faster on topics you understand well. The experience is similar to building a complex codebase with Claude Code in that you sometimes have to use your understanding to patch up some things that the model did wrong, but you end up being much faster and more confident when tackling hard problems. If you’re a physicist and don’t believe it, give it a try!