Will biotech be replaced by AI?

While working in the biotech space, especially in AI, it’s natural to wonder, “will biotech be replaced by AI?” What will happen to all the clever people who work in this field? Well, as ethical developers and biotech providers, we can assure you the answer is no. Biotech will only ever be enhanced by the benefits that AI offers, and here’s why:

How is biotech evolving?

Think of all the milestones in biotech in the last few decades, including CRISPR and synthetic biology overall. Nearly all research teams in these spaces use computing combined with human-centred innovation to do lab work, experimentation and practice iterative discovery. At no point were humans ever removed from the equation. In fact, human critical thinking is a core component of AI-powered research. And we expect that to continue.

AI for biotech

In just the areas where we operate, AI is being used to support human innovation in several ways, not replace it:

Microbiome analysis with rules-based analytics

Understanding biome health and performance markers within animals, for example, is faster with AI support and can lead to more rapid advancement in sport and medicine. 

Automated classifications at scale

AI can process images and video much faster than a human researcher can. This means a cost & time savings that translates to lower disease transmission rates and better diagnosis.

Applied intelligence in drug discovery

Learn how, by applying machine learning, we’re already generating accurate prediction models at scale that speed up current drug design and discovery processes.

Human health analytics

By using feature extraction, classification and analysis, AI like ours can identify disease biomarkers to provide early treatment regimes and improve human health.

So, will biotech be replaced by AI?

Sure, AI offers speed and scalability to do pattern recognition in large datasets at scale. But it lacks creativity and contextual understanding. There’s also a huge dependence on quality input data and a need for oversight to prevent hallucinations and incorrect conclusions. So, no matter how much AI is adopted, we still envisage biotech needing wet-lab validation, human ethical oversight and safe clinical trials; long into the future. 

AI is just a tool, like a microscope or computer, not the robotic takeover of the life sciences that TV and movies might have you believe. We simply expect that the biotech careers of tomorrow will need more data and tech expertise than perhaps they do today, and some of the more repetitive bench science roles will be upskilled. However, interfaces like our groundbreaking AskApollo are being created all the time, simplifying the UX humans need to interact with to just one question. Contrary to some doomsayers, it’s actually expected that the demand for bioinformaticians, computational biologists and AI-trained lab technicians will increase in the future.

Curious about how we’re already using AI in biotech? Have a look at our case studies or get in touch today.