For years, scientists have worked to read and rewrite these manuals they have accumulated throughout the history to solve big problems like disease or hunger. Now, a powerful new tool called Evo 2 is making this easier and faster than ever. Developed by the Arc Institute, NVIDIA, and top universities, Evo 2 is an AI that outdo in genome modeling and design across all domains of life, from tiny microbes to complex forms of life.
Evo 2 is an AI model built with very complicated architecture (very complicated for non-technical reader) that is able to not only predict DNA sequences (DNA sequence is a repeated pattern of four proteins- ACGT - Adenosine, Cytosine, Guanine and Thymine - from which all life forms have evolved), but also generate new DNA sequences. This means that Evo 2 can analyze the building blocks of life and create new ones, which is a groundbreaking achievement in the field of genetics.
For example, it can spot harmful changes in genes- like those linked to cancer with a high degree of accuracy. This could help doctors cater treatments to a person’s unique DNA which would lead to more effective and personalized medicine. Beyond that, Evo 2 can invent entirely new genetic codes which could open doors to creating better crops or new medicines. Imagine- you grow maize every year and you are noticing that more and more hybrid seeds of maize is giving high yield but is also costing you more in water, manure and fertilizers. After conducting parallel studies on that particular seed plant and better understanding its positive and negative sides, with Evo 2, it can look at the DNA sequence of that seed and create a new genomic sequence that gives high yield but also reduces your expenses on other resources. This will help in growing economic frontier just at a small scale but can further impact in grander scale.
Evo can also help in making breakthrough research in treating genetic diseases by pinpointing the error DNA and fixing it, which would make costly, and uncurable genetic diseases curable. But that does not mean the test will be carried out immediately, because we need to evaluate such systems and make sure that the model does not generate such sequences that could alter or damage the life as we know it.
However, the path down the road is not smooth-sailing. Evo 2, due to its complicated architecture and being a large model (staggeringly 40 Billion parameters), it requires serious computing power- that means GPU, electricity, and cooling components. This means only institutions or actors with significant resources will be able to access and utilize Evo 2, at least for now. Also, while the model is great at guessing, real-world experiments are still needed to check and double-check its work. This is the important step in ensuring the results generated by Evo 2 are accurate and reliable.
There is also other side to the story shared by other scientists- what happens if this power to design genomes is misused? If this model falls into the hand of a bad actor, they would use it to create biological weapons, at worst, to destroy life as we know it. You remember Dr. Animo in original Ben 10 series? Yeah, that’s how least bad I am talking about of the worst case scenarios that could happen if it falls into the hand of a bad actor. So, this technology is not only a responsibility of their developers, but also policymakers. Because you cannot trust a person with such power who has capacity to change genome. A high school teacher in any of the developed countries has enough resources to conduct minimal modifications in gene in lab. But because their laws are very strict when it comes to the matter of “playing God” and if found, your entire life, work and everything is destroyed.
To sum it up, Evo 2 is a game-changer AI that can read and rewrite the code of life. It can help us solve huge problems like disease and hunger, and even make new medicines and better crops. But, as powerful as it is, we have to be careful. The people making Evo 2 and similar technologies need to keep working on it, but the governments and rules-makers need to keep an eye on it too, so we can use it to help people without putting them in harm's way. It's a tricky balance, but if we get it right, Evo 2 could be a huge step forward for humanity. We need to be smart about how we use it, and make sure we're using it to make life better and not to "play God" or create new problems.
