Just because two of my articles related to AI (Artificial Intelligence) were about its failures with math (https://davescomputertips.com/artificial-intelligence-failed-a-math-test/ & https://davescomputertips.com/another-ai-math-flop/) doesn’t necessarily mean AI is a failure. What I will be describing here is one of the best uses of AI that I’ve seen so far. I’m sure there are many other wonderful applications of AI, but I’m only going to focus here on the drug “Abaucin”.
In our society, antibiotics tend to be overused. From injecting antibiotics in animals in our food chain to patients with colds asking their physician for an antibiotic that can’t cure it to patients not completing prescribed antibiotics, we are reaching the point where some bacteria no longer have an effective antibiotic to cure them. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a list of bacteria for which new antibiotics are urgently needed. At the top of their Critical list is “Acinetobacter baumannii”, a bacteria that can be fatal. This multidrug-resistant bacteria can cause quite severe, and often deadly, bloodstream infections and has become resistant to most of the best available antibiotics. So finding a new antibiotic to cure it has become a top priority for the WHO. The most critical group contains multi-drug resistant bacteria that threaten hospitals and nursing homes and those with compromised immune systems. These bacteria have become resistant to almost all antibiotics.
If that isn’t scary enough, the extinction of the human race is a possibility as demonstrated in the movie “Contagion” starring Gwyneth Paltrow. Although it was fiction, it showed how society began to collapse. Okay, that’s enough scariness. Now let’s see how AI has helped.
AI To The Rescue (Hopefully)
Abaucin is a new antibiotic that was developed to disrupt a key process for bacteria. AI was used by scientists by first training AI to learn the chemical properties of the drug. Then they fed AI information that was found by observing the compounds against the top of the critical bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii. That led to an observation that it affected that bacteria but no others.
So, this is one application of AI that could save humanity. Due to this success, other antibiotics will likely be developed using AI.
Your feedback on this article is welcome. Please use the Comments section below to respond.
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Stuart,
Yes, there are many stories of the highly trained people using expensively huge computers to accomplish some amazing discoveries to help mankind. That is great. But, where is AI beneficial to the ordinary person with a home PC. I am tired of the hype. Other than having some online system draw a few images for me, I have not found anything useful with AI. Now, Microsoft wants to RAM this technology down our throats. I see where they plan to force this onto cell phones.
I would rather see a few training articles to show how AI could be useful to the ordinary person.
Tom
Tom,
Thanks for your comment.
The way I look at it is that AI is in its infancy. It’s like the Model T Ford from the early 20th century. In the beginning, very few people had one. Now almost everyone has a car. AI has a long way to go before it penetrates the barriers to its usefulness. Still, I have great confidence that it will benefit most people eventually, not just “highly trained people using expensively huge computers”.
Stu
No, not really. When the Model T came out, it was a hit. Here was something that significantly improved people’s lives.
AI, on the other hand, is a BUST. I have tried a number of what is available in my everyday searches. I have found none are any better than regular searches using GOOGLE, BING, DuckDuckGo, etc.
As for the creative part, I have used several to try and create a drawing of a portrait of a dozen seniors for a project I am working on. AI cannot even understand the words “a dozen” or the number “12”. It is hilarious how it depicts senior citizens.
I also tried for some generative text for a document I was composing. That was a little better, but I do not feel it significantly improve the verbiage I came up with on my own. Why spend the effort for little return.
Until it is a hit with the general public, it will fail. Forcing it upon us will not make it a hit.
AI’s are being used more in programs which the ordinary individual can use. Totally agree unless you have coding knowledge, you will need to wait and use software to truly see what AI’s can do.
A little off topic here, but I found a YouTube video where stealth technology assisted with AI is changing warfare, Mindblower!