Artificial Intelligence Solves Superbug Mystery In 48 Hours, Scientists Shocked

A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool has solved a superbug mystery in 48 hours, leaving scientists astonished. Microbiologists have been working to understand the complex issue for over a decade, BBC reported.

Professor Jose Penades and his team at Imperial College London spent years investigating why superbugs were immune to antibiotics. So, he thought of giving this command of solving the mystery to Google's AI tool 'Co-Scientist' to test its capabilities. And to his shock, the AI reached a conclusion within two days.

What shocked him even more was that his research had not been published yet, which means AI could not have accessed it from the public domain. This initially made Mr Penades wonder if AI had somehow grabbed the information from his system.

Mr Penades said he was shopping with somebody when he asked that person to leave him alone for an hour because he needed to digest this thing. He even wrote to Google and asked if the tech giant had access to his computer. Google confirmed they did not.

Mr Penades and his team of researchers were looking at the creation of some superbugs, harmful bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Their theory was that superbugs could transfer from one species to another by forming a tail out of many viruses.

This hypothesis was unique to the research team and had not been published or shared anywhere. Yet, when they tested Google's AI tool, it confirmed their hypothesis in just two days, perfectly matching their research findings.

Mr Penades stated that the AI tool did not just replicate his research but it exceeded expectations. He said that the AI not only provided the correct hypothesis but also suggested four more, all of which were valid. He said one of the hypotheses had never even crossed their minds, and his team was now working on it.