We are about to witness a revolution that will change the world as we know it. A revolution that promises to cure diseases, feed the planet, generate clean energy and much more. It's the biotechnology revolution, and second Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, is poised to transform our economy and society in ways we can now only imagine. But to fully seize the opportunities of this epochal turning point, Schmidt warns, we will have to deal with an equally great challenge: managing well the strategic sector increasingly accelerated by artificial intelligence. The convergence of AI and biotech is leading us towards biology's “ChatGPT moment”. We are ready?
A future written in the code of life
To understand the scope of the biotech revolution, just look at some of its most exciting promises. Those of a world in which everything, from plastic al cement, it is produced from biomass rather than fossil fuels. A world where personalized gene therapies they prevent pandemics e they cure genetic diseases previously incurable. In which the meat is grown in a laboratory*, reducing the environmental impact of livestock farming, ei enriched cereals they resist the vagaries of the climate, guaranteeing abundant harvests even in extreme conditions.
This panorama is closer than we think. Some of these elements are already visible today. Making this clearer, however, will be our growing ability to program biology as we program computers, thanks to the advances and convergence of genetic engineering and artificial intelligence. Just as ChatGPT learns from human language to generate new text, AI models trained on biological sequences are starting to work to design new drugs and proteins, predict tumor growth, and create other useful products**, greatly accelerating the pace of biotech discoveries.
Biotech: investing in the future without putting the present at risk
Whether you like these prospects or not, Schmidt warns: leadership in the biotech sector is not guaranteed for any country. The risk of losing ground in this crucial race is real for anyone. History teaches that countries that lead the way in emerging sectors often end up losing their lead when they relocate production elsewhere. It happened with cars, consumer electronics, solar panels and, above all, semiconductors. To avoid repeating the same mistake with biotech, it will be essential for any nation to ensure a reliable production chain, both domestically and internationally, investing in everything from the extraction of raw materials to the storage of data, through the training of necessary talents.
The required investments must not (I would say: CANNOT) come from the government alone. It will also be crucial to stimulate private financing. On the other hand, the stakes are enormous: already today the bioeconomy generates over 13 billion euros in Italy, with almost a thousand companies already on the market. And elsewhere it runs even more: it is worth at least 5% of American GDP, compared to 1% for semiconductors. According to some estimates, 60% of the physical inputs of the global economy could in the future be produced with biological processes.
It also goes without saying that shared rules and standards will be needed alongside investments. We need to ensure responsible development of biotech powered by artificial intelligence. While the risks of malicious use appear limited at the moment, the threat landscape will evolve as the tools advance. We need a new economy, an entire economy of testing and security. New companies, new jobs, new professions related only and carefully evaluate the parameters and vulnerabilities of these technologies.
A challenge to overcome, an opportunity to seize
Ultimately, the biotech revolution represents a challenge to be overcome and an opportunity to be seized for every nation. A challenge, because maintaining a leading role in such a strategic sector will require vision, investments and standards that are up to par. But also an unrepeatable opportunity to lead a transformation that will redesign every aspect of our lives, from health to nutrition, from energy to the environment.
Shaping the future of biotechnology means shaping the future of humanity itself. And countries with strong innovation ecosystems have all the potential to do so. But they will have to move quickly and decisively, mobilizing resources and talent before others take over. Because if it is true that the biotech revolution is now upon us, it is equally true that only those who know how to open it first will be able to reap its benefits and define its rules.
The game has just begun, but the stakes couldn't be higher.
* Last year, for the first time in the world approved the sale of cultured meat.
** Also in 2023, approved on first commercial treatment of genetic modification that it uses CRISPR
