Modern AI Tools Cutting Research Time, Says Google DeepMind Official
Released in 2020, AlphaFold achieved accuracy in protein structure prediction.
Hyderabad:Artificial intelligence is moving into a new phase where it is accelerating breakthroughs across biology, genomics and materials science. The mission is to build AI responsibly to benefit humanity by applying self-learning systems to major scientific challenges, said Pushmeet Kohli, vice-president of science, Google DeepMind (UK).
After demonstrating superhuman performance in games through AlphaGo, DeepMind shifted focus to science. Its breakthrough came with AlphaFold, an AI system that predicts a protein’s three-dimensional structure from its amino acid sequence, a problem that had challenged scientists for decades, he said in his plenary at the BioAsia.
Released in 2020, AlphaFold achieved accuracy in protein structure prediction. The system has since predicted structures for nearly all known proteins and is now used by more than three million researchers worldwide. The work earned global recognition, including a Nobel Prize in chemistry for members of the team.
AlphaFold’s impact spans drug discovery, antimicrobial resistance research and enzyme development. Its successor, AlphaFold 3, extends predictions to interactions between proteins, small molecules and nucleic acids, enabling deeper insights into cellular biology, he said.
DeepMind is also advancing genomics research. Kohli said that while the human genome project enabled scientists to read genetic code, understanding its meaning remains a challenge. Tools such as AlphaMissense help determine whether genetic mutations are harmful, aiding rare disease diagnosis, while AlphaGenome models gene expression and other biological effects.
The company is now developing more general “AI Co-Scientist” systems that generate and refine scientific hypotheses. In one case, the system produced in days the findings that had taken researchers nearly a decade, Kohli said, adding that AI could accelerate scientific discovery but responsible use and awareness of its limitations remain essential.