"AlphaFold is a step toward making biology a more predictive science"
About this Quote
The line is carefully calibrated. “A step toward” signals humility and political awareness: biology isn’t physics, and no one wants to promise a Laplacean future where living systems become spreadsheets. But the ambition is unmistakable. “Making biology” frames prediction not as a discovery but as a construction project, implying that better tools, datasets, and compute can refit the discipline’s workflow. It flatters the scientific establishment while smuggling in a tech-world premise: progress looks like models that generalize.
Context matters: AlphaFold arrives amid a broader AI moment where machine learning shifts from pattern recognition to scientific infrastructure. Hassabis, a programmer leading a deep-learning lab, speaks as a translator between cultures. The subtext is that “biology” has been limited by its methods, not its questions, and that AI can function like a new kind of microscope: not just seeing more, but seeing ahead.
It’s also a recruitment pitch. Calling biology “predictive” appeals to funders, pharma, and young researchers who want leverage, not only insight. Prediction becomes the modern badge of seriousness - and AlphaFold the proof that the badge is earnable.
Quote Details
| Topic | Science |
|---|---|
| Source | AlphaFold announcement and interviews around CASP14 results (DeepMind Blog / press coverage, 2020) |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Hassabis, Demis. (2026, January 26). AlphaFold is a step toward making biology a more predictive science. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/alphafold-is-a-step-toward-making-biology-a-more-184486/
Chicago Style
Hassabis, Demis. "AlphaFold is a step toward making biology a more predictive science." FixQuotes. January 26, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/alphafold-is-a-step-toward-making-biology-a-more-184486/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"AlphaFold is a step toward making biology a more predictive science." FixQuotes, 26 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/alphafold-is-a-step-toward-making-biology-a-more-184486/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.


