AI is solving medical problems at unthinkable speeds, but it’s not just the pharma industry that should prepare, writes Paul Armstrong

Sure you may use ChatGPT to dot your i’s and cross your t’s, but generative AI is also rewriting the very process of discovery in local labs. The recent AI-driven breakthrough in superbug research is more than just a win for science – it signals a fundamental shift in how industries can, and will, operate. A problem that took microbiologists a decade to solve was cracked in 48 hours by Google’s ‘co-scientist’ AI. That pace of progress is not an outlier, it is the beginning of a new reality where AI-led breakthroughs will happen faster than businesses, governments and markets can react.

Medical and scientific research has traditionally followed a predictable cycle. Research teams formulate hypotheses, test theories, run experiments and refine their findings over many years. The AI-driven model tears that structure apart. The speed at which AI can generate new hypotheses and test them means that industries built around long R&D timelines are now at risk of being outpaced. Drug development, healthcare and pharmaceuticals will feel the impact first, but the shockwaves will extend far beyond the life sciences. Every business, whether it directly engages with AI or not, will be touched by the ripple effects of accelerated scientific discovery. Need a real world example? Think about the secondary effects that GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic are having already and we’re only just starting to scratch the surface.

A shift of this magnitude will change the way businesses operate, even in sectors that have nothing to do with AI or medical research. Companies have long relied on actuarial models, workforce health projections and traditional supply chain resilience to guide strategy. None of those assumptions hold if breakthroughs in longevity, disease prevention and real-time health........

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