In this episode, we speak with Dorothy Chou, who ran Google DeepMind’s Public Engagement Lab for nine years. She now advises DeepMind and chairs UCLPartners, an organization connecting new technology to the UK’s National Health Service.
We cover:
What made AlphaFold possible in the first place and how we can replicate its success in other domains
Why neither venture capital nor biology can fund biology on biology’s actual timeline, and Dorothy’s proposed solution
Why AI could help redirect money the ideas that will actually help people the most, not just the ones that are easiest to fundraise for
How AI companies are about to repeat the public engagement mistake the biotech industry already made once
Her advice for young people who feel like they’re not the expert in the room
“Why in the wake of Google DeepMind winning the Nobel Prize in AI for biology, is there less and less investment in biotech? It's not something that's rational or logical.”
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What is the protein folding problem?: Explainer (by Roots of Progress) of the problem AlphaFold solved and why figuring out a protein’s shape from its sequence was so hard in the first place.
Rethinking AI for Science Funding: Dorothy’s own written case for blended finance in science, laying out AlphaFold argument from the episode alongside concrete examples like ARPA-E and advance market commitments for vaccines.
What is the Valley of Death in Research Commercialization?: Explanation from WAITRO of the funding gap between promising research and a commercially viable product.
Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative: Google DeepMind's account of the AlphaFold validation work Dorothy says she's proudest of: targeting Chagas disease and leishmaniasis, both concentrated in the Global South.
Full transcript and resources available on our website →
A curated list of opportunities to take a step further and actually contribute to building better futures.
Protopian prize. A new fiction contest from Metagov seeking short stories imagining a "protopia", a future that's better than today through incremental, believable progress. Two categories: public AI and democratic futures. → Submit by July 31
Roots of Progress is hiring a head of communications and a program manager, fellowships. Grow Roots of Progress's audience and lead comms for the flagship Progress Conference and fellowship programs, or run the Blog-Building and Audience-Building Intensive fellowships and support alumni writers. Fully remote, US timezones. → Apply here (rolling)
Humane Studies Fellowship (IHS). Grants of up to $10,000 for PhD students completing research on the norms and institutions of a free society and the drivers of human flourishing. Supports conference presentations and journal publication. Rolling review; decisions within eight weeks. → Apply here (rolling)
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