FutureHouse unveils AI tool for biological discovery

FutureHouse, a non-profit organization backed by Eric Schmidt, has announced a new artificial intelligence tool called Finch, which is designed to support “data-driven discovery” in the field of biology. This launch comes just a week after FutureHouse unveiled its API and platform.

Description of the Finch tool

Finch accepts biological data, mostly in the form of research papers, and prompts from users (e.g., “What can you tell me about the molecular drivers of cancer?”). He then runs code to generate the numbers and validate the results. Sam Rodriguez, co-founder and CEO of FutureHouse, likened Finch to a “first-year graduate student,” emphasizing his ability to find useful information quickly.

FutureHouse’s co-founder and CEO, Sam Rodriguez, likened Finch to a “first-year grad student,” emphasizing his ability to find useful information quickly.

“To be able to do all that in a matter of minutes is a superpower,” Rodriguez noted.

Finch can also perform targeted data analysis, including differential expression analysis and functional enrichment analysis.

FutureHouse hopes that AI tools like Finch can automate steps in the scientific process. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has previously argued that “super-intelligent” AI tools could significantly accelerate scientific discovery and innovation. Similarly, Anthropic’s CEO has predicted that AI could help develop cures for most cancers.

Anthropic CEO Sam Altman has also predicted that AI could help develop cures for most cancers.

Problems and Challenges

Despite the optimism, many researchers don’t find AI particularly useful for guiding the scientific process. To date, FutureHouse has not made significant scientific breakthroughs or discoveries with its AI tools.

FutureHouse has not made any significant scientific breakthroughs or discoveries with its AI tools.

Biology is an attractive target for AI companies: the drug discovery market is estimated to be worth $65.88 billion in 2024 and could reach $160.31 billion by 2034. However, progress in this area has been limited. Some companies using AI for drug discovery, such as Exscientia and BenevolentAI, have faced setbacks in clinical trials.

Some of the companies using AI for drug discovery, such as Exscientia and BenevolentAI, have experienced setbacks in clinical trials.

FutureHouse’s Current Steps

Rodriguez said Finch sometimes makes “silly mistakes,” so FutureHouse is hiring bioinformaticians and computational biologists to evaluate its accuracy and reliability. The tool is currently in a closed beta testing phase.

In this way, FutureHouse continues to develop its AI technology with the hope that it can make significant contributions to biological research and discovery in the future.

The article FutureHouse unveils AI tool for biological discovery was first published at ITZine.ru.