Anita began by asking Gabriel about his work on the impact of AI in structural biology, and particularly in addressing the protein-folding problem in structural biology.   This is work for which Google Deep Mind’s scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry last year.    Protein folding is important for understanding the very foundation of life itself.  The competition has been going on for decades, with no definitive solution for modeling protein folds even today.  But we got a lot closer with AI just a few years ago.

Gabriel explained the nature of the protein-folding problem and its significance in the fields of computer science, biology, and philosophy.   He described the nature of the CASP competition, the breadth of the implicated issues, and the specific nature of the labs that were involved.

We ended the conversation by talking about the nature of the accomplishment of Google Deep Mind for biology and for our understanding of the nature of life.

Gabriel offered incredible insights on the difference between what is real and what is not real. He described the enormous importance of human insight in shaping the work of AI and of interpreting its meaning.    In the end, he is optimistic, but his optimism rests on a confidence that AI can be shaped through human intervention toward constructive aims.