OpenAI has created an AI model for longevity science
When you think of AI’s contributions to science, you probably think of AlphaFold, the Google DeepMind protein-folding program that earned its creator a Nobel Prize last year.
The company says it has developed a language model that dreams up proteins capable of turning regular cells into stem cells—and that it has handily beat humans at the task.
The work represents OpenAI’s first model focused on biological data and its first public claim that its models can deliver unexpected scientific results. As such, it is a step toward determining whether or not AI can make true discoveries, which some argue is a major test on the pathway to “artificial general intelligence.”
Last week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he was “confident” his company knows how to build an AGI, adding that “superintelligent tools could massively accelerate scientific discovery and innovation well beyond what we are capable of doing on our own.”
The protein engineering project started a year ago when Retro Biosciences, a longevity research company based in San Francisco, approached OpenAI about working together.
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