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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University have created AutoDNA, a laboratory where artificial intelligence independently plans and carries out complex DNA research—from task formulation to results analysis. The development is reported by Nature. The system only requires a textual description of the desired result in ordinary language; it then prepares an experimental plan and distributes tasks among AI agents that control robotic equipment. During testing, AutoDNA already independently detected a cancer-related mutation in a sample and learned to write textual information directly into a DNA molecule.
The developers emphasize that this is not merely an automation of instruments, but control of the entire research process as a whole. AutoDNA is capable of managing more than 20 types of laboratory equipment and robotic mechanisms, allowing thousands of operations to be performed without human intervention. If needed, the system can independently modify individual stages of the experiment if the course of the research requires it.
Among the tests conducted were the detection of the KRAS G13D mutation associated with cancer, and an unusual experiment in encoding information into genetic material. The researchers tested whether the system could encode the phrase "Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change" into a nucleotide sequence consisting of the four DNA bases—A, C, G, and T. AutoDNA encoded the text, synthesized the corresponding DNA, and after sequencing fully recovered the original message.
In a separate data-archiving experiment, the system performed 11 382 operations with laboratory devices to encode, store, and read information from genetic material. The initial message was reproduced without loss, demonstrating the potential of DNA as an alternative to traditional digital storage media.
What role does the human still play in the laboratory?
Despite the extensive automation, developers say a complete withdrawal of personnel is not yet possible. AutoDNA still relies on people to monitor the equipment's technical state and provide the laboratory with reagents and supplies for research. Nevertheless, such systems can substantially shorten the time needed to test scientific hypotheses and relieve researchers from routine operations, and in the long term become an important tool for the development of genetics, medicine, and biotechnology.
Earlier, Informator reported that even a short session with artificial intelligence can weaken a person’s ability to think independently—researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that after turning off ChatGPT, the accuracy of participants’ answers sharply declined. We also wrote that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates warned about the potentially catastrophic risks of AI development and urged the U.S. government to enact appropriate legislation to regulate the field.
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