π Weekly Journal: From Eroom's Law to Moore's Law: AI's Impact on Drug Development
[6 min read] Your weekend guide to getting ahead on the digital frontier. Today, the usual market news & how AI can reverse pharma's declining productivity (Eroom's Law), enabling exponential progress
Welcome to this weekβs Weekly Journal π, your guide to the latest news & innovation in emerging technology, digital assets, and our exciting path to the Metaverse. This is week 93 of the 520 weeks of newsletters I have committed to, a decade of documenting our physical and digital lives converge.
New subscribers are encouraged to check out the history & purpose of this newsletter as well as the archive.
- Ryan
π Digital Assets Market Update
To me, the Metaverse is the convergence of physical & virtual lives. As we work, play and socialise in virtual worlds, we need virtual currencies & assets. These have now reached mainstream finance as a defined asset class:
π₯πΊοΈ 7-day heatmap below, showing the current share of the market for the top cryptocurrencies, and their change in price over the last week.
Bitcoin has surpassed $60,000 for the first time since August 30, driven primarily by institutional investors rather than retail traders. This shift suggests increased market stability and may lead Bitcoin to defy its typical September downturn. Analysts note that Bitcoin's market dominance rose to 57.80%, the highest in this cycle, indicating a strengthened position and renewed interest in the cryptocurrency market.
π Crypto Fear and Greed Index is based on volatility, social media sentiments, surveys, market momentum, and a few other bits and pieces. A positive week for sure.
ποΈ Interesting news from this week
Tokenised real-world assets (RWAs), excluding stablecoins, have surpassed a market value of $12 billion, according to a Binance Research report. This growth is chiefly driven by tokenised U.S. Treasuries, bolstered by elevated U.S. interest rates held at 5.25%-5.5% since July 2023. BlackRock's BUILD and Franklin Templeton's FBOXX lead in tokenised Treasury products. For those following the emerging metaverse, this signifies a deeper integration of traditional assets into virtual worlds, enhancing investment avenues within the metaverse. However, anticipated interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve may lessen the appeal of these assets. Additionally, the on-chain private credit market has grown to $9 billion, led by firms like Figure, Centrifuge, Maple, and Goldfinch.
Samsung and Apple continue to dominate the global smartphone market, now integrating advanced AI features that could accelerate the development of the emerging metaverse. Samsung, holding an 18.9% market share, offers real-time translation and generative photo editing, enhancing user interaction with digital content. Apple, with a 15.8% share, introduces features like menu descriptions using its A18 chips. These AI advancements in smartphones are significant for metaverse enthusiasts, as they may serve as primary devices for accessing immersive virtual experiences. Meanwhile, Chinese competitors like Xiaomi, vivo, and OPPO are rapidly expanding, potentially influencing the metaverse's global reach and infrastructure.
π Read of the Week
Artificial intelligence and quantum computing are poised to transform biotechnology and healthcare, addressing long-standing challenges in drug development. David Kingsley, PhD, highlights in a recent article how AI can counteract the declining productivity in pharmaceuticals, often referred to as Eroom's Law (Mooreβs Law backwards). Startups like Superluminal Medicines are leveraging AI to model protein dynamics and accelerate small molecule drug design, with industry giants like Nvidia investing. Google DeepMind's AlphaProteo system is pioneering the design of novel proteins that effectively bind to target molecules without extensive screening. These advancements suggest that AI could revolutionise drug discovery, making processes more efficient and precise. Read more below:
The below graph was the eye-opener for me. In the semiconductor industry, Moore's Law observes that the number of transistors on a computer chip exponentially increases for every billion dollars invested in research and development (R&D). This means computers become more powerful and efficient over time for the same investment. Conversely, in the pharmaceutical industry, despite substantial R&D spending, the number of new drugs (called "new molecular entities") discovered per billion dollars is decreasing. This depicts how drug development is becoming slower and more expensive, emphasising a stagnation in progress compared to the rapid advancements seen in computing technology.
π₯ Watch of the week
Africa VR Campus, based in Kenya, is pioneering the introduction of metaverse technology to remote communities, aiming to boost socio-economic empowerment and local industries. Founded by a former teacher, the initiative began hosting weekly metaverse events in 2019, providing hands-on training for locals. Participants, including young residents, express excitement about the economic opportunities and virtual experiences offered. Despite challenges like limited infrastructure and internet coverage, the organisation underscores the importance of homegrown innovation and comprehensive training to unlock the metaverse's full potential. Kenya, known as the "Silicon Savannah," is emerging as a key African tech hub.
AI π¨π€π΅βπΌ
In the Metaverse, AI will be critical for creating intelligent virtual environments and avatars that can understand and respond to users with human-like cognition and natural interactions:
Apple has unveiled its newest iPhone lineup, featuring "Apple Intelligence," a built-in AI system that enhances Siri into an on-device personal AI agent. This advancement positions Apple to become a leading aggregator of AI agents, similar to its role with mobile apps over a decade ago. By integrating AI seamlessly across its ecosystem of over 2 billion devices, Apple aims to dominate the top layer of the AI tech stackβapps and software. New features like context-aware Siri and Visual Intelligence not only personalize user experience but also allow Apple to route queries to third-party AI services like ChatGPT, potentially reshaping the AI economy. More below:
Thatβs all for the free version this week! If you have any organisations in mind that could benefit from learning about emerging technology, be sure to reach out. Educational workshops are one of many consulting services I offer.
DCA With Me π€
Dollar Cost Averaging is an investment strategy in which an investor regularly invests a fixed amount of money into a particular asset/asset class at regular intervals, regardless of its current market cycle. By doing so, the investor can reduce the impact of market volatility and potentially earn a better return over time. Motto = time IN the market beats trying to time the market
To experiment with this, I invest $50 NZD into a Digital Asset every week. Each week I will choose an asset that seems underpriced in the short term and has positive long-term potential. My timeframe is 3-5 years. I donβt give financial advice but if you want to follow along with me you can use my easycrypto.co.nz referral link to support this newsletter. Letβs dive into this weekβs pick:
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