Making Claude a Chemist

(anthropic.com)

30 points by gmays5 hours ago

5 comments

gopalv1 hour ago
The non-professional side of Organic Chemistry is one place where I think AI would really shine.Feels complex like solving a Rubik's cube to write down synthesis steps but it is all a sequence of memorized tricks. Do Cannizaro if you want this, Bergmann to do that.But the synthesis plan is only 10% of the actual work.The gap between writing down the synthesis step and actually doing it is also extremely large.Even if you get the right molecule, it might be the wrong way around or just clump up into a useless mess.The Ritonavir episode of Veritasium is a great example of how all chemistry on paper is a mere shadow of what actually happens in real life.
- ElFitz12 minutes ago
 > Feels complex like solving a Rubik's cube to write down synthesis steps but it is all a sequence of memorized tricks. Do Cannizaro if you want this, Bergmann to do that.I remember two years ago, when I actually got into using graph data structures, wondering if maybe the "space" of available reactions for any given starter and target molecules could be mapped as a graph, with intermediates as nodes and reactions as weighted directed edges, so synthesis becomes pathfinding through chemical space.Turns out, it’s a thing! [^0]Edit: Makes you wonder how much interesting stuff is sitting in plain sight, waiting for someone with the right cross-domain awareness / knowledge / whatever to notice it.[0]: <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9574932/" rel="nofollow">https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9574932/</a>
- jgilias1 hour ago
 > Even if you get the right molecule, it might be the wrong way around or just clump up into a useless mess.Sounds a lot like vibe coding lol
 - moffkalast36 minutes ago
 At least vibe coding can only explode in your face metaphorically.
 - fakedang1 hour ago
 Modern biochemistry (so far) IS vibe coding lol. You mostly have vibes on how the chemistry should work, based on (very strong) natural evidence coupled with theoretical development and lab studies. Then you mix and match, goading bacteria and praying that they produce what you want in good measure. Then you take their secretions and run chromatography studies on them to check if that's what you actually want, or whether it's just some random bullshit. If it's the latter, you have to toss that out and start all over again.
- reinitctxoffset1 hour ago
 Organic chemistry seems like a discipline better done by chemists than forward deployed staff with their payoff function sharply truncated at an IPO which at this point may or may not happen on schedule.
matheusmoreira2 hours ago
What good is it if you can't use it? Or worse, if you can but it silently sabotages you?
- yorwba1 hour ago
 > We measured three Claude models (Opus 4.7, Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.6)You can use those and they probably won't intentionally sabotage you.
 - matheusmoreira1 hour ago
 Yeah. Probably.
smj-edison40 minutes ago
I feel like chemistry is one thing that current models will struggle with for the next while, because it's inherently 3D. In the micro world, shape = function. Maybe enough textual patterns will let it under chemistry, but like how do you describe a hydrogen shift without showing how it moves positions and rebalances bonds?
jgilias1 hour ago
inb4 someone calls Bessent to explain how this can be used in fentanyl production.
thefounder2 hours ago
Let’s ban this before it gets too powerful !
- simulator5g1 hour ago
  I don't think it should be outright banned, automated intelligence is like a gun, hammer, knife, nuclear warhead, etc.
  - pkal1 hour ago
    I see that intelligence itself is a tool, but that doesn't mean I want an automated gun, automated hammer, automated nuclear warhead, etc.
    - fakedang1 hour ago
      You may not want them, but the NRA certainly wants that you want them.
      - ben_w56 minutes ago
        In the future perhaps it will mean "Neural Rifle Automaton"
  - tearwear1 hour ago
    not really, though. you don't see automated intelligence in the hands of junkies et al. ... and you don't see it coming, either ...
    - simulator5g1 hour ago
      Junkies et al can log into chatgpt right now and use it to create a phishing email to steal drug money from your Grandma. Many people saw this coming.
  - xaxfixho1 hour ago
    [dead]