Daphne Koller on drug discovery and AI
How can scientists leverage AI and machine learning to more effectively research, develop, and deliver new drugs?
This week, Reid and Aria talk drug development with renowned computer scientist and executive Dr. Daphne Koller, whose company, insitro, uses machine learning to improve the quality and speed of drug discovery. She addresses several ways AI and machine learning are already being used to redefine diseases and create better therapeutic interventions. Plus, she shares her experience transitioning from academia to industry.
Read the transcript of this episode here: https://www.possible.fm/podcasts/dkoller
For more info on the podcast and transcripts of all the episodes, visit https://www.possible.fm/podcast/
Topics:
0:00 - Hellos and intros
0:03 - Early involvement in AI
1:47 - Typical drug discovery and its development in the last five years
4:49 - AI’s impact on biology and drug development
5:26 - Pi aside
7:51 - Areas of acceleration in AI and drug discovery
13:44 - Synthetic data
17:46 - AI implications for therapeutic hypotheses
20:17 - Personalized vs. precision medicine
23:27 - Closing the data feedback loop
28:57 - Exciting announcements down the line
31:00 - Privacy and data
33:17 - ChatGPT-4o story
35:24 - Stuart Russell and his feedback on Koller’s thesis
42:01 - AI is a moving target
44:01 - How academia and industry complement each other
48:33 - Managing different cultures in one company
50:53 - Rapid-fire questions
Select mentions:
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Stuart Russell
Possible is an award-winning podcast that sketches out the brightest version of the future—and what it will take to get there. Most of all, it asks: what if, in the future, everything breaks humanity's way? Tune in for grounded and speculative takes on how technology—and, in particular, AI—is inspiring change and transforming the future. Hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, each episode features an interview with an ambitious builder or deep thinker on a topic, from art to geopolitics and from healthcare to education. These conversations also showcase another kind of guest: AI. Whether it's Inflection’s Pi, OpenAI’s ChatGPT or other AI tools, each episode will use AI to enhance and advance our discussion about what humanity could possibly get right if we leverage technology—and our collective effort—effectively.
