AI will provide hypothetical mechanisms for all the ‘function unknown’ proteins that are currently in the world’s protein databases; >90% of these mechanisms will be more or less correct. AI will also assess >90% of hypothetical proteins in these databases, and identify whether or not they do have function, and in many cases, assign a function with a >50% success rate. Will AI reach the point where it understands at a fundamental level how it works? Will it tell us?   If AI b

I spent some time writing a blog on AI and it's ended deciding to post as three separate blogs, the first being Are We Insane? This one is a follow-on to Are We Insane. The third one is just me having some aMUSEment. In my own world it is nearly impossible to imagine the kinds of resources being used to develop AI to remedy environmental problems, and create a sustainable future. Like most technology, AI will contribute to technical problem solving, but will it provide soluti

I’ve gotten curious about how AI actually works and so recently read ‘The Scaling Era’ a book by Dwarkesh Patel about the development of AI. Patel is an AI evangelist, very knowledgeable, who writes and podcasts extensively about the subject. The book is basically a series of interviews with technical leaders in the field including heads of research and CEO’s of some of the leading AI companies. Much of the discussions are quite technical, well beyond my fairly limited compr