I thought we are considering a worst case scenario, where some super human AGI, which has access to a lot more data than any single human being, can much more quickly cross-reference everything than a network of humans ever could.
It can already write much quicker than a human. Imagine what an AGI could do that wouldn't need to painstakingly write papers, publish them, read them, meet on conferences, and so on, to make progress.
> I thought we are considering a worst case scenario
Well, I am not.
Unless someone can show me evidence of an AGI a) being possible, b) being within near future reach and c) being an existential threat.
Most humans are not leaving their house under the assumption that they will get hit by a meteorite either. And that is actually an occurrence that we know for a certainty is physically possible.
It can already write much quicker than a human. Imagine what an AGI could do that wouldn't need to painstakingly write papers, publish them, read them, meet on conferences, and so on, to make progress.