Technological advancement makes people uncomfortable, and artificial intelligence (AI) is no exception. It’s going to uncover things we don’t like, things we cannot explain, and things that truly impact mankind – maybe even all at the same time. How it can possibly add so much value may remain a mystery at times. For us to truly benefit from AI, sometimes we need to forgo explainability and focus on the end result.
Take Zymergen as an example. Their job is to use machine learning to change microbes so they do things like produce chemicals using natural fermentation. In their S-1 filing, Zymergen admitted that nearly 60% of the beneficial changes they discovered for their microbes defy known human explanation, even after the fact. One domain where such a technology proves extraordinary useful is in drug discovery, where the end result is the only thing that matters.
About Recursion
Back in 2017, we first wrote about Utah’s own Recursion Pharmaceuticals (now going by the name Recursion), a company that was doing something extraordinary – they were actually looki