Universal Lab Automation - Rick Wierenga of PyLabRobot

Building an AI-Driven Autonomous Lab for Life Science R&D | Discovery Engines

Jason Kelly, CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks, believes the future of life science R&D is autonomous, starting with the 52-cart lab he and his team have built in Boston. In this episode, I sit down with Jason to explore Ginkgo's autonomous biology lab, its collaboration with OpenAI, the POTUS-backed Genesis Mission, and where autonomous physical systems could take science next. Hosted by Nabil Laoudji. See below for episode links, chapters, and our socials. 🙏🙌 Episode Links: * Ginkgo Bioworks [https://www.ginkgo.bio/] * Jason Kelly's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrkelly2/] * OpenAI x Ginkgo Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Collaboration [https://openai.com/index/gpt-5-lowers-protein-synthesis-cost/] * Genesis Mission to Accelerate AI for Scientific Discovery [https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/11/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-unveils-the-genesis-missionto-accelerate-ai-for-scientific-discovery/] * PNNL's Anaerobic Microbial Phenotyping Platform (AMP2) [https://www.emsl.pnnl.gov/science/instruments-resources/anaerobic-microbial-phenotyping-platform-amp2] * Society for Lab Automation and Screening [https://www.slas.org/] * GlobalData Report: Large Pharma Drug Licensing from China [https://www.globaldata.com/media/business-fundamentals/large-pharma-drug-licensing-from-china-reaches-record-high-at-28-in-2024-reveals-globaldata/] Chapters: * (00:00) - Preview * (01:54) - Jurassic Park and the Value of Storytelling in Science * (04:50) - What Is the Department of Energy's AMP2 at PNNL? * (07:17) - How Autonomous Labs Can Be Used to Run Experiments * (11:49) - Principles of the Autonomous Lab (Waymo Analogy) * (17:12) - Project Genesis, Competing with China in Scientific Discovery * (23:42) - Reindustrializing America via Automation * (37:03) - OpenAI Designing and Running Bio Experiments * (47:17) - Advice to Frontier Labs Designing AI Intelligence for Science * (49:24) - Ginkgo Autonomous Lab Tour * (1:00:38) - OpenAI's Interface With Ginkgo * (1:02:51) - Lab Scheduler Platform * (1:16:19) - Advice for Deep Tech Startups * (1:22:22) - Advice for Scientists and Founders Thinking About Where to Focus in Biotech * (1:25:18) - How Research Labs Could Better Collaborate and Communicate Results * (1:29:23) - Advantages and Challenges of Going Public * (1:32:14) - Public Perception of Ginkgo * (1:33:57) - How Ginkgo's Business Model Has Changed Connect With Us: * Our Newsletter [https://www.discoveryengines.co/] * Twitter [https://twitter.com/nabilwrites] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/discoveryengines/] * Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/nabilwrites.bsky.social] * Feedback or questions [https://www.yesandlabs.com/contact/] Platforms: * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@discoveryengines] * Apple Podcasts [https://apple.co/40sQCu9] * Spotify Podcasts [https://open.spotify.com/show/1wfOlAAqXXaIrXRwO5T71R]

Building Safe AI - MIT AI Alignment's Riya Tyagi and Gatlen Culp

Riya and Gatlen are board members of MIT AI Alignment, an organization focused on reducing risks from advanced artificial intelligence. Join us as we map the AI safety landscape, define key risks, examine generational perspectives, and explore how we can work together to build a safer future for humanity. Hosted by Nabil Laoudji. See below for episode links, chapters, and our socials. 🙏🙌 Episode Links: * MIT AI Alignment [https://aialignment.mit.edu/] * Cambridge Boston Alignment Initiative (CBAI) [https://www.cbai.ai/] * Riya's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/riyatyagi-ai/] * Gatlen's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gatlen-culp/] * Gatlen's Projects [https://www.mit.edu/~gculp/] * Slaughterbots x Future of Life Institute [https://futureoflife.org/video/slaughterbots/] * Track II Diplomacy [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Track_II_diplomacy] * Tegmark AI Safety Group [https://tegmark.org/] * "Nexus" by Yuval Noah Harari [https://www.ynharari.com/book/nexus/] * RAND Institute [https://www.rand.org/topics/artificial-intelligence.html] * BlueDot Impact [https://bluedot.org/] * "If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies" by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_Anyone_Builds_It,_Everyone_Dies] Chapters: * (00:00) - Preview & Intro * (01:48) - What Is MAIA? * (02:47) - Why AI Safety? * (09:26) - Trends in AI Safety Interest * (12:46) - AI Safety Techniques: MechInterp & Beyond * (17:15) - Model Situational Awareness * (20:58) - Hybrid, Mixture of Experts Models * (24:40) - Decomposing a Model & Parallels with Human Brains * (29:00) - Private Capital for Safety Research * (32:23) - Frontier Lab Mentorship Programs * (34:14) - Policy Perspectives & China Competition * (36:53) - Ways In Which AI Might Threaten Us * (39:31) - Track 2 Diplomacy & International Collaboration Examples * (43:13) - Slaughterbots & Dangerous Capability Demos * (46:54) - AI-Driven Unemployment * (52:06) - Generational Attitudes Towards AI * (57:44) - How to Get Involved - Non Technical * (01:01:00) - Learning Resources: BlueDot Impact, etc * (01:01:46) - Importance of Communicators & Artists * (01:03:50) - How to Support MAIA Connect With Us: * Our Newsletter [https://www.discoveryengines.co/] * Twitter [https://twitter.com/nabilwrites] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/discoveryengines/] * Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/nabilwrites.bsky.social] * Feedback or questions [https://www.yesandlabs.com/contact/] Platforms: * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@discoveryengines] * Apple Podcasts [https://apple.co/40sQCu9] * Spotify Podcasts [https://open.spotify.com/show/1wfOlAAqXXaIrXRwO5T71R]

AI for Physics Discovery - Jesse Thaler of NSF's IAIFI, MIT's Center for Theoretical Physics

Jesse Thaler is Director of the National Science Foundation's AI for Physics "Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions" (IAIFI), and Professor of Physics at MIT's Center for Theoretical Physics. In this episode we explore how AI is reshaping physics, how physics is reshaping AI, and mind-bending implications of theoretical physics. Join us!" See below for episode links, chapters, and our socials. Hosted by Nabil Laoudji. Support the podcast! Subscribe to our newsletter: www.discoveryengines.co [https://www.discoveryengines.co/]. Thanks for watching 🙏🤙 Episode Links: * Jesse's Website [https://jthaler.net/] * National Science Foundation's IAIFI [https://iaifi.org/] * MIT Department of Physics [https://physics.mit.edu/] * Jesse's MIT Page [https://physics.mit.edu/faculty/jesse-thaler/] * Quantum Field Theory [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_field_theory] * CERN Large Hadron Collider [https://home.cern/science/accelerators/large-hadron-collider] Chapters: * (00:00) - Preview & Introduction * (04:00) - Jesse's Journey Into Physics * (05:49) - Curiosity For Understanding The Nature Of Reality * (07:27) - What Is A Theoretical Particle Physicist? * (09:34) - Quantum Field Theory * (11:05) - Particle-Wave Duality * (12:53) - What is the Large Hadron Collider? * (15:04) - Data Generated From Particle Collisions * (17:52) - How LHC Experiments Are Scheduled * (19:24) - The Future of the LHC and Particle Colliders * (26:29) - National Science Foundation's Institute for AI and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI) * (30:52) - How AI Is Accelerating Physics Discovery * (40:42) - How Physics is Accelerating AI Discovery (Diffusion models and beyond) * (48:27) - Physics Popcorn! – Einstein on Time * (49:32) - Donald Hoffman's Interface Theory of Perception * (50:48) - Many-Worlds Theory of Quantum Mechanics * (53:12) - DeepMind's Demis Hassabis on Superintelligence for Science * (54:03) - Human-Style Intelligence Alone Is Not Enough * (55:17) - Advocate For Curiosity-Driven Research, Hire IAIFI Talent, Engage With AI Connect With Us: * Our Newsletter [https://www.discoveryengines.co/] * Twitter [https://twitter.com/nabilwrites] * Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/nabilwrites.bsky.social] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laoudji/] * Feedback or questions [https://bit.ly/7zaeqox] Platforms: * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@discoveryengines] * Apple Podcasts [https://apple.co/3DkzZrp] * Spotify Podcasts [https://spoti.fi/3BzMqiy] Featured Images: * "Standard Model of Elementary Particles", Cush, Public Domain * "First proton-lead ion collisions at the LHC", Pcharito, CC BY-SA 3.0 * Book cover: "The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes", by Donald Hoffman * X Screenshot, Demis Hassabis, @demishassabis [https://x.com/demishassabis]

Universal Lab Automation - Rick Wierenga of PyLabRobot

Rick Wierenga is creator of PyLabRobot, an open-source, hardware-agnostic Python SDK that's lowering the barriers to lab automation for scientists, startups and hackers. See below for episode links, chapters, and our socials. Hosted by Nabil Laoudji. Support the podcast! Subscribe to our newsletter: www.discoveryengines.co [https://www.discoveryengines.co/]. Thanks for watching 🙏🤙 Episode Links: * Rick's Twitter [https://x.com/rickwierenga] * Rick's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickwierenga/] * PyLabRobot GitHub [https://github.com/PyLabRobot] * PyLabRobot Forum [https://discuss.pylabrobot.org/] * PyLabRobot Twitter [https://x.com/PyLabRobot] * Dana Gretton, PyHamilton [https://github.com/dgretton] * PyTorch [https://pytorch.org/] * Flow Cytometry [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_cytometry] Chapters: * (00:00) - Preview & Introduction * (03:33) - Rick's Serendipitous Foray Into Lab Automation * (07:00) - Why AWS for Biology * (09:17) - Understanding Liquid Handling Robots * (10:49) - Generic Robotics Stack * (13:20) - Robot Automation With PyLabRobot * (15:07) - The Community Building PyLabRobot * (16:54) - Why A Big Pharma Would Support PyLabRobot * (18:36) - PyTorch: An Open Source Inspiration * (20:32) - Sharing Technology In A Competitive Industry * (23:11) - Supported Device Ecosystem * (25:49) - Surprises in Device Integration * (27:54) - Reverse Engineering 101 * (31:26) - How Useful Are Github CoPilot, Codex, LLMS for Reverse Engineering * (34:34) - How Device Manufacturers, Automation Experts, Are Reacting to PyLabRobot * (39:17) - Open Source Efforts and Device Safety * (41:11) - How PyLabRobot Enables Sharing Protocols, Reproducibility * (45:03) - Creating a 3D Scanner From a Liquid Handler * (48:49) - Supporting Self-Driving Labs * (54:49) - How PyLabRobot Will Evolve * (55:40) - Automating Flow Cytometry * (58:17) - How To Contribute and Connect Connect With Us: * Our Newsletter [https://www.discoveryengines.co/] * Twitter [https://twitter.com/nabilwrites] * Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/nabilwrites.bsky.social] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laoudji/] * Feedback or questions [https://bit.ly/7zaeqox] Platforms: * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@discoveryengines] * Apple Podcasts [https://apple.co/3DkzZrp] * Spotify Podcasts [https://spoti.fi/3BzMqiy]

Breaking Into AI for Science - Alishba Imran of UC Berkeley BAIR, Arc Institute, CZ Biohub, Voltx

Alishba Imran is a deep learning researcher at UC Berkeley's BAIR AI Lab, a Research Fellow at the Arc Institute, a former Research Intern at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, co-founder of battery tech startup Voltx, and co-author of "AI for Robotics: Toward Embodied and General Intelligence in the Physical World" See below for episode links, chapters, and our socials. Hosted by Nabil Laoudji. Support the podcast! Subscribe to our newsletter: www.discoveryengines.co [https://www.discoveryengines.co/]. Thanks for watching 🙏🤙 Episode Links: * Alishba's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alishba-imran-/] * Alishba's Twitter [https://x.com/alishbaimran_/] * "AI for Robotics" book [https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/979-8-8688-0989-7] * Arc Institute [https://arcinstitute.org/] * UC Berkeley BAIR AI Lab [https://bair.berkeley.edu/] * Chan Zuckerberg Biohub [https://www.czbiohub.org/] * DynaCLR Paper [https://arxiv.org/html/2410.11281v1] * Biopunk Lab [https://biopunklab.com/] Chapters: * (00:00) - Preview & Introduction * (05:02) - Why AI for Science? * (10:34) - Bootstrapping Your Own Learning * (16:02) - Why Battery Testing Matters: Launching Voltx * (20:19) - Batteries, Raw Earth Minerals: Incremental vs Transformative Chemistries * (23:54) - The Business Side of Deep Tech Entrepreneurship * (29:14) - The State of Battery Tech Today * (30:50) - Working with Chan Zuckerberg Biohub * (33:37) - DynaCLR For Contrastive Learning of Cell State Dynamics * (36:21) - Why Self-Supervised + Contrastive Learning * (41:06) - Generalizing to Different Cells Contexts With Embeddings * (42:06) - Microscopy or ML Advancements for Unlocking Progress * (43:54) - Managing Terabytes of Data * (46:51) - Arc Institute: Collecting Largest Single Cell Dataset * (48:40) - Role of Tech-Founder Funded Institute To Advance Foundational Work * (50:41) - Book Launch! Merging Classical Robotics Methods With Cutting-Edge Deep Learning * (53:42) - Robotics Progress: Hype vs Reality * (57:09) - Robotics for Science * (58:54) - Future Trends: Automation, Foundational Single Cell Models, Protein and Genome Language Models, Transcriptomics * (01:00:41) - Pivoting into AI for Science Early, Mid, or Late Career * (01:02:49) - Exchanging Ideas; DynaCLR Paper; AI for Robotics Book Connect With Us: * Our Newsletter [https://www.discoveryengines.co/] * Twitter [https://twitter.com/nabilwrites] * Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/nabilwrites.bsky.social] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laoudji/] * Feedback or questions [https://bit.ly/7zaeqox] Platforms: * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@discoveryengines] * Apple Podcasts [https://apple.co/3DkzZrp] * Spotify Podcasts [https://spoti.fi/3BzMqiy]