“We haven’t designed or validated AlphaGenome for personal genome prediction, a known challenge for AI models,” Google said in a statement. Underlying the AI system is the so-called transformer architecture invented at Google that also powers large language models like GPT-4. Lareau says the system will not broadly change how his lab works day to day but could permit new types of research. AlphaGenome could suggest which of those mutations are really causing the root problem, possibly pointing to a treatment. Eventually, some researchers aspire to use AI to design entire genomes from the ground up and create new life forms.