What changed

OpenAI’s GPT can summarize research papers and make predictions—but can it do science? Can it generate hypotheses, design experiments, interpret results and iterate? Last summer researchers at OpenAI and Ginkgo Bioworks, a company that designs and installs autonomous, robot-run labs, decided to find out. Though artificial intelligence systems have posted high scores in math, physics and computer science, biology is harder to measure, says Joy Jiao, who leads life sciences research at OpenAI. “For something like ‘design the optimal experiment,’ there’s no right answer. It’s what we call a hard-hard problem: it’s hard to generate a solution, and it’s also really hard to verify.” That led the team to have AI design experiments using superfolder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP), an engineered jellyfish protein that is a common benchmark because it provides a fast, unambiguous signal: it glows green. While OpenAI’s GPT-5 provided the experimental designs, Ginkgo Bioworks provided what its co-founder and CEO Jason Kelly calls the “Waymo” of biology: an automated lab system where researchers set objective and the AI does the driving. The autonomous robotic lab can rapidly process experiments and operate without constant human oversight. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. The team focused its experiment on cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS), a technique for producing proteins without living cells. Traditional biomanufacturing relies on genetically modifying living cells to produce medicines like insulin. CFPS makes proteins outside of cells by running the cell’s own protein-making machinery in a controlled mixture. “It is one of the fastest ways to make proteins,” says Reshma Shetty, chief operating officer and co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks. “You don’t need to clone your DNA, put it into the cell and wait for the cell to grow up.” Improving CFPS could have significant implications for medicine, food and agricultural products. From OpenAI’s San Francisco, Calif., headquarters, GPT-5 designed experiments and sent them across the country to Ginkgo Bioworks’ robotic systems in Boston. As it iterated, GPT-5 analyzed incoming data and…