AI and modern experimental biology: A historical perspective
Ute DeichmannAI and modern experimental biology: A historical perspective
Ute Deichmann, Director of the Jacques Loeb Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, discusses the adoption and limitations of Artificial Intelligence within modern experimental biology. ‘How generative AI could disrupt scientific publishing.’ ‘ChatGPT use shows that the grant-application system is broken.’ ‘Companies say the technology will lead to faster drug development. Independent verification and clinical trials will determine whether the claim holds up.’ ‘AlphaFold touted as next big thing for drug discovery — but is it?’ These recent headlines from the journal Nature not only indicate the enormous impact of artificial intelligence (AI), the intelligence of machines or software, on research across various scientific disciplines but also point to challenges regarding AI reliability. What does intelligence here mean? The Cambridge Dictionary defines intelligence as ‘the ability to learn, understand, and make judgments or have opinions based on reason.’