Abstract
The third AI boom since the 2000s, triggered by big data and machine learning, is still continuing, and in the past year or so, a variety of Generative AI technologies have been released to the public, attracting significant social attention. In the midst of this third AI boom, AI development in drug discovery has also made significant progress, and AI is now used in all stages of drug discovery, including de novo drug design, synthesis route planning, virtual screening, drug target identification, cell image analysis, ADME/Tox prediction, and so on.
In order to connect drug discovery and AI technologies, it is essential to have “bridge scientist” who are well versed in both fields. The bridge scientists play an important role in promoting the use of AI, such as introducing AI technology in drug discovery research and proposing ways to use AI in drug discovery. It is necessary for bridge scientists to have some understanding of AI technologies, such as recognizing issues in drug discovery, what AI technologies can be applied to solve such issues, what AI can do, what AI cannot do, and what is required to develop AI.
I hope that this lecture will provide an opportunity to discuss the importance of bridge scientists between drug discovery and AI and to consider how to develop such talents.
