An AI claiming to 'solve all diseases' is set to trial its initial drugs on humans

Isomorphic Labs, supported by Google, plans human trials for AI-designed cancer drugs aiming to 'solve all diseases.'

: Isomorphic Labs, a company backed by Alphabet, Google's parent company, is getting ready to conduct human clinical trials on cancer drugs devised by its AI technology. The enterprise arose from the groundbreaking performance of AlphaFold, an AI platform from DeepMind, which is renowned for predicting intricate protein arrangements. The company boasts significant financial investments, with multi-billion dollar partnerships with Novartis and Eli Lilly and $600 million in fresh funding to start clinical trials. As they progress, serious issues such as the 'black box' problem and the potential monopolization of life-saving drugs by big tech companies raise concerns about accessibility and liability.

Isomorphic Labs, a subsidiary of Alphabet, is poised to start human trials for cancer drugs designed entirely using artificial intelligence. This bold endeavor stems from their advancements with AlphaFold, an AI developed by DeepMind, known for its unprecedented ability to predict the 3D shapes of proteins. By harnessing AI, Isomorphic Labs aims to accelerate drug development processes and reduce the time and cost traditionally needed to bring a new drug to market, which currently averages over a billion dollars and up to 15 years. Their objective is to revolutionize drug creation aiming ultimately to 'solve all diseases.'

The company has secured substantial financial backing, evidenced by multi-billion dollar collaborations with major pharmaceutical corporations like Novartis and Eli Lilly. Additionally, they've gathered $600 million in new funding to propel their internally developed drugs, particularly oncology-focused drugs, into human trials. CEO Sir Demi Hassabis, awarded the 2024 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry for his contributions to AlphaFold 2, underlined the essential role of this new capital in propelling their projects from conceptualization to clinical reality.

Nevertheless, the increasingly prominent role of AI in pharmaceuticals raises profound ethical and logistical concerns, particularly the opaque nature often likened to a 'black box.' This term refers to the fact that while AI can output solutions, its decision-making process lacks transparency, raising concerns about reliability and accountability. It brings into question whether Alphabet will own the resultant cancer treatments as they do their search algorithms and whether these innovations will be accessible beyond affluent demographics.

These developments shine a light on the rapid pace at which AI is infiltrating medical fields, presenting both relief and trepidation. On one side, it offers a potentially transformative remedy for numerous degenerative diseases, promising to minimize human suffering. On the other, it challenges regulatory standards and presents liability ambiguities — who is accountable if an AI-generated drug results in adverse effects? The creators, programmers, or the AI itself?

Isomorphic Labs is at a critical juncture, catalyzing a shift towards AI-driven medicine with transformative ambitions. Their success could alleviate more human suffering than any previous technological advancement. However, they must first cultivate trust in a public wary of AI's potential power and mitigate risks of market monopolization to ensure equitable access to these medical breakthroughs.

Sources: Gizmodo, Fortune

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