TL;DR
The pitch for AI in medicine has been speed: software that invents drug molecules faster than chemists can. The harder question is whether those molecules help sick people. A cancer pill designed with generative AI has now posted its first human results, and by the company's own data it shrank tumors substantially in 4 of 22 people with mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining around the lungs, and stopped the disease from growing in 15 of the 22. These were patients who had already run through many treatments. It is a small, early trial with no comparison group, and the doses are still being raised. If results like this hold up, medicines invented by machines could start reaching people with cancers that have few options left.
Below the line, for paid subscribers: The full story: where it stands, how we got here and what's dated next; our Odds board on 5 milestones, starting with "An AI-designed cancer pill is approved in the U.S. by 2033"; our labeled speculation on what it adds up to; and every source.