The journey of scientific discovery has made incredible progress, yet many profound questions remain unanswered, such as the nature of time, consciousness, and reality. Advancements require new tools, like Artificial Intelligence (AI), which can accelerate scientific discovery. DeepMind, now Google DeepMind, has been committed to developing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) for over 20 years to tackle these challenges. One major achievement is AlphaGo, the first AI to defeat a world champion at Go, which demonstrated AI’s potential in solving complex problems. This success inspired the creation of AlphaFold, aimed at solving the “protein folding problem”—a grand challenge in understanding proteins' 3D structures from their amino acid sequences. AlphaFold revolutionized the field by predicting protein structures quickly and accurately, achieving atomic accuracy.

Over a year, it predicted the structure of over 200 million proteins, a monumental task that would have otherwise taken centuries of research. To maximize societal benefits, AlphaFold’s models are freely available, assisting millions of researchers globally in areas like enzyme design, malaria vaccine development, and drug discovery. By establishing Isomorphic Labs, these advancements aim to revolutionize drug discovery, making it more efficient and affordable—embodying "science at digital speed. " AI’s transformative impact extends beyond biology, aiding in fields such as fusion energy, material discovery, and weather prediction. For instance, AI-powered flood prediction now offers early warnings to millions in over 80 countries, improving climate resilience. Embracing AI's potential requires addressing ethical responsibilities and including diverse experts in its development. Collaboration among industry, government, academia, and civil society is vital for establishing regulatory frameworks that foster innovation and mitigate risks. As one of history's most transformative technologies, AI promises to solve significant challenges, paving the way for a potential new golden age of discovery. Despite many hurdles, careful and responsible use of AI could lead us closer to solving some of the universe's most perplexing mysteries.