Ewen Callaway for Nature recently published two articles discussing the use of AI in scholarly research. In the first article, Callaway discusses the potential for AI-designed proteins to be weaponized. In discussion with researchers, Callaway concludes that the ethical and safe use of AI will require efforts that go beyond what natural scientists can do alone. In the second article, Callaway highlights a recent proof-of-principle study led by researchers from the University of Washington, wherein the researchers used generative AI to make completely new antibodies for the first time. While the work has yet to be peer reviewed, Callaway discusses how this study and other investigations could open up new opportunities for pharmaceutical research.
