Anthropic CEO says AI’s biotech impact may take longer than expected

Dario Amodei, the CEO and co-founder of Anthropic, suggested that his earlier view of how artificial intelligence could transform biotech may take longer to show up than he once expected. During an on-stage conversation last week, he said the effects might not become visible for about a decade.

In a 2024 essay titled “Machines of Loving Grace,” Amodei argued that AI, including large language models such as Anthropic’s Claude, could help researchers achieve what amounts to a decade of progress each year. He described that idea as a path to compressing a century of advancement into a decade. But he now says the field is not there yet.

“I don’t think that today we can make progress at a rate of ten years per year for a number of reasons,” Amodei said. He pointed to several limits, including the fact that models are not as capable as they may eventually become. He also said researchers will need time to learn how to use the tools effectively, and that infrastructure and regulatory systems will also need time to change.

Amodei and the reporter were speaking at an Anthropic event where the company introduced Claude Science, a product aimed at biologists and pharmaceutical companies. Anthropic described itself as a public-benefit corporation focused on improving the world. The reporter said the interview was conducted on stage with the freedom to choose the questions.

The source did not include further details about Claude Science or the full exchange.