Agentic AI: Expediting Biomedical Research at Stanford

Agentic AI is transforming biomedical research. This new type of artificial intelligence can reason, pursue complex goals, and act independently. What's happening is a shift from AI models that just provide information to those that can actually perform tasks. Researchers at Stanford Medicine are leading this charge. James Zou, an associate professor, has developed several agentic AI systems. These systems act like an army of AI-powered "science genies" that can carry out many research tasks. Agentic AI uses a large language model as its foundation but can also use external tools. This allows them to think independently and make decisions. They are becoming more like scientists themselves, able to generate hypotheses and even make new discoveries. This development could significantly speed up scientific discovery and research.