From Roger Morgan, Presteigne, Powys, UK
The arrival of the GNoME artificial intelligence model to predict new inorganic crystal structures is indeed exciting. Its positive potential is justly lauded, having increased the number of known inorganic crystal structures from around 48,000 to over 2 million, with potential for making better batteries, solar panels, computer chips, alloys and more (2 December, p 8).
But there is a worrying quote in the story: “You know the structure might exist, but if you don’t know what it does, then it’s not clear whether to make it or not.” The history of new wonder materials is made up of huge benefits and some toxic disasters. This AI-driven leap in potential materials bears promise, but may also be the harbinger of disasters. We should devote as much research to assessing possible risks as to the possible benefits of new materials.
