Google is building Gemini AI-powered lab to discover new materials
What's the story
DeepMind, the artificial intelligence (AI) division of tech giant Google, has announced plans to open its first automated lab in the United Kingdom. The facility will be dedicated to discovering transformative new materials and is expected to be operational by 2026. The lab will be built from scratch with a focus on Gemini, Google's family of multimodal AI models.
Advanced technology
Gemini-powered lab to revolutionize materials discovery
The new lab will combine a multidisciplinary team of scientists with cutting-edge robotics. These advanced systems will be capable of synthesizing and analyzing hundreds of material samples every day. The main aim is to drastically reduce the time taken for discovering new materials, including superconductors for low-cost medical imaging, advanced batteries, next-gen solar cells, and more efficient computer chips.
Scientific pursuit
DeepMind's CEO emphasizes importance of materials discovery
Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google DeepMind, has stressed on the significance of materials discovery in science. He said that faster breakthroughs could lead to entirely new technologies and significantly lower costs. As part of this partnership with the UK government, Google will give British scientists priority access to four specialized "AI for Science" models: AlphaEvolve (algorithm design), AlphaGenome (DNA analysis), WeatherNext (weather forecasting), and AI Co-Scientist (virtual scientific collaborator).
Data sharing
DeepMind to share AI models with UK AI Security Institute
DeepMind has also announced its intention to share proprietary AI models and data with the UK AI Security Institute. The institute was established in late 2023 to mitigate risks from advanced AI systems. The collaboration will look at how an AI system's "thinking" process, or Chain of Thought (CoT), works. This will help researchers understand how an AI model arrives at its answers and study its impact on the long-term labor market and economy.
Strategic alliance
UK government welcomes partnership with Google DeepMind
The UK government has welcomed the strategic alliance with Google DeepMind. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said this partnership would help turn "cutting-edge AI into real benefits for people." She added that it could unlock "cleaner energy, smarter public services, and new opportunities." This agreement is seen as a major step toward leveraging advanced technology for public good in the UK.