Technology Vision 2023 | When Atoms meet Bits #TechVision Take AlphaFold, a recent innovation out of DeepMind. related to protein folding—a restriction eliminated While other efforts like AlphaGo and AlphaStar by AlphaFold. In the short time since its creation, explored AI’s ability to win different types of games, AlphaFold has become a critical tool in the 昀椀eld of AlphaFold turned to a far more practical and biology, accelerating activities like drug discovery 19 Proteins are signi昀椀cant application: protein folding. and the study of novel bacteria and plant structures, the building blocks of biology, and their unique three- and deepening our understanding of deadly 21 dimensional structures determine what function they diseases. This is the true power of bringing science will perform. So, for instance, if a pharmaceutical and technology together, not just ef昀椀ciency or even company were developing a new drug, understanding acceleration—but how it completely reframes the various protein shapes would be critical to horizon of possibility, shattering what were once understanding how the drug will interact with the considered insurmountable constraints. person it is being administered to. The problem is, historically, these are extremely labor intensive to Leaders need to reorient around this mindset shift. It study, or computationally intensive to simulate. But is subtle, but profound. When enterprises approach in the summer of 2022, DeepMind publicly released digital transformation, it is often inward looking. It is a database of 200 million different protein structures about disrupting the enterprise, its partnerships, and —which covers nearly every protein known to its relationship to the market, and even demonstrating human beings—now available to all companies and new models to the market that force others to react. researchers around the world.20 The focus is on gaining advantage in the competitive landscape. But enterprises that look to science The takeaway goes beyond protein folding. AlphaFold technology are going one step beyond: They aren’t unlocked a grand challenge, and for enterprise getting a leg up in the same competition, they are leaders in all industries, that signals a brand-new rede昀椀ning the rules of the game. world of possibility. The 昀椀eld of biology has always been limited by the time it took to perform operations