AI for science, drug discovery to have ‘greatest impact’, says Nvidia’s Huang

The use of artificial intelligence for science would have an even bigger impact than its use for human-related tasks, Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang said during a discussion with Alibaba Cloud founder Wang Jian, amid rapid advances in the field of AI-enabled drug discovery.

Applying AI to human tasks was easier because it was done in the language created by humans in the first place, but biology was created by nature and therefore harder to “manipulate”, Huang said at the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing on Thursday.

AI can help “understand and learn the meaning of proteins, the meaning of chemicals, the meaning of cells, and the meaning of life”, then design drugs to help people live longer, according to Huang.

“AI for science is where we will make the greatest impact,” he said.

The 62-year-old Taiwanese American chip executive was speaking during a fireside chat with Alibaba Cloud’s Wang, who noted that there were “a lot of opportunities” in the field of AI for science.

Alibaba Cloud is the AI and cloud division of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post.