AI is changing the way we do biology. But can it crack one of the toughest challenges in science — drug discovery?

In this episode of Agents of Tech, we speak with Professor Charlotte Deane, MBE, University of Oxford, one of the UK’s leading computational biologists. As a co-lead of OpenBind, Charlotte is helping build the global data infrastructure needed to accelerate drug discovery with AI.

From the role of open science to the cultural gap in innovation between the US and UK, Charlotte explains why the UK, despite its size, continues to punch well above its weight in AI and computational biology.

📍 Recorded live at ISMB/ECCB in Liverpool, the world’s leading computational biology conference.

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00:00 Intro: AI’s toughest challenge – drug discovery

00:27 Welcome to Agents of Tech at ISMB/ECCB, Liverpool

01:00 Why is drug discovery so hard for AI?

02:00 The UK and AI: overlooked but world-class

05:57 Innovation culture: risk-taking in the UK vs US

08:00 Introducing Professor Charlotte Deane

09:12 What is the OpenBind consortium?

13:00 Pharma data vs open science data

15:59 How the UK punches above its weight in AI

19:20 Training the next generation of AI-literate scientists

22:00 How AI will change the way science is done

25:00 Can AI ask better scientific questions?

27:40 How AI is changing drug discovery workflows

32:00 Final thoughts from Charlotte Deane

34:00 Host debrief: UK AI, OpenBind, and the future of biology