FutureHouse, a nonprofit organization backed by Eric Schmidt, has released a new AI tool called Finch, which is designed to support "data-driven discovery" in biology. The tool, launched just a week after FutureHouse introduced its API and platform, takes in biology data and a prompt, runs code, and generates figures and results. According to FutureHouse co-founder and CEO Sam Rodriques, Finch can perform tasks similar to a "first-year grad student" in a matter of minutes, making it a potential "superpower" for researchers.

Finch is capable of both open-ended analysis and directed data analysis, allowing it to identify patterns and trends in large datasets. In a demonstration, Rodriques showed how Finch could perform a differential expression and functional enrichment analysis of RNAseq data, identifying upregulated genes and inflammatory modulators. While Finch has shown promise, Rodriques acknowledges that it still makes "silly mistakes," which is why FutureHouse is recruiting bioinformaticians and computational biologists to help evaluate its accuracy and reliability.

The launch of Finch is part of a broader trend in the tech industry, where companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are touting the potential of AI to "massively accelerate scientific discovery and innovation." However, many researchers remain skeptical about the ability of AI to drive scientific breakthroughs. Despite the hype, there is limited evidence to suggest that AI has led to significant discoveries or innovations in the field of biology.

In fact, several AI-powered drug discovery companies, including Exscientia and BenevolentAI, have suffered high-profile clinical trial failures in recent years. Moreover, the accuracy of leading AI systems for drug discovery, such as Google DeepMind's AlphaFold 3, tends to vary widely. This has led some experts to question whether AI is truly ready to revolutionize the scientific process.

Despite these challenges, the market for AI in biology is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. According to Precedence Research, the market was worth $65.88 billion in 2024 and could reach $160.31 billion by 2034. This has attracted a number of startups and tech giants to the space, all vying for a piece of the pie.

For its part, FutureHouse is taking a cautious approach to the development of Finch, recognizing that AI is not a silver bullet for scientific discovery. By recruiting experts in bioinformatics and computational biology, the company hopes to improve the accuracy and reliability of Finch, and ultimately make it a useful tool for researchers. Whether Finch will live up to its promise remains to be seen, but its launch is a significant step forward in the development of AI-powered tools for biology.

Those interested in learning more about Finch can sign up for FutureHouse's closed beta program, which is currently recruiting participants. As the AI landscape continues to evolve, it will be important to keep a close eye on developments like Finch, and to critically evaluate their potential impact on the scientific community.