Have you ever had the feeling you were heading too fast towards something that was inevitable?
Maybe in a dream? Maybe on a roller-coaster?
Maybe unsure of where this journey might take you? Maybe feeling a little out of control?
I’m beginning to feel that way about Artificial Intelligence (AI).
I have used ChatGPT on numerous occasions – and when it’s good – it’s great. When it’s not – well – how can you ever trust it again?
Anyway, as 2023 ends, and 2024 is right around the corner it seems AI is poised to make an even bigger impact on our lives – probably mostly good (fingers crossed) yet not without drawbacks – as with any new technology.
Recently, I’ve come across a few stories that I think illustrate both sides of the AI coin – and one that shows it’s here and only getting bigger.
First – the outlook.
In a recent Yahoo Finance article, TECHnalysis president Bob O’Donnell was quoted saying:
“2024 is going to be the year when it really explodes, because every day people are going to use [AI],” TECHnalysis president Bob O’Donnell told Yahoo Finance.
Think PCs and smartphones running generative AI programs, and generative AI-powered video and audio platforms.
That’s the basic outlook – and really – it makes sense. 2023 has turned into the launch pad for AI. 2024 will see the take-off.
But what about the bad stuff? Stories abound about how AI will take over society, jobs, etc. I found an interesting article which summarizes the results of a study conducted by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) which found that:
“ChatGPT's answers to nearly three-quarters of drug-related questions reviewed by pharmacists were incomplete or wrong — in some cases providing inaccurate responses that could endanger patients, according to a study presented at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting Dec. 3-7 in Anaheim, California. When asked to cite references, the artificial intelligence program also generated fake citations to support some responses.”
Seems like pretty scary stuff.
But certainly, beyond all this doom and gloom – there must be some promising uses of AI – especially in the pharmaceutical industry, where (hopefully), its used by knowledgeable and detail-oriented professionals.
We all know that the pharmaceutical industry is very conservative, and slow to adopt new technologies. Preferring to adopt a wait and see attitude.
Yet, recently, Merck announced the launch of their AIDDISONTM drug discovery software. In the press release, Merck says it’s the fi rst software-as-a-service platform that bridges the gap between virtual molecule design and real-world manufacturability through SynthiaTM retrosynthesis software application programing interface (API) integration. The press release adds:
“It combines generative AI, machine learning and computer-aided drug-design to speed up drug development. Trained on more than two decades of experimentally validated datasets from pharmaceutical R&D, AIDDISONTM software identifies compounds from over 60 billion possibilities that have key properties of a successful drug, such as non-toxicity, solubility, and stability in the body. The platform then proposes ways to best synthesize these drugs."
"With millions of people waiting for the approval of new medicines, bringing a drug to market, still takes on average, more than 10 years and costs over 1.9 billion Euros" said Karen Madden, Chief Technology Officer, Life Science business sector of Merck. "Our platform enables any laboratory to count on generative AI to identify the most suitable drug-like candidates in a vast chemical space. This helps ensure the optimal chemical synthesis route for development of a target molecule in the most sustainable way possible.”
So, are there any conclusions we can make from all this? From my point of view AI is here to stay. It will get refined, maligned, and used for good and bad. Where it leaves us as humans remains to be seen.
Let me know what you think.
Mike Auerbach
Editor-In-Chief
[email protected]
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