With the fight against coronavirus still ongoing, scientists and medics are working as quickly as possible to find a cure. According to some organizations, the answer to a cure for coronavirus (and possibly any future disease) may be hiding in the dense networks of artificial intelligence. 

With artificial intelligence, researchers are able to discover potential treatments for various diseases, including treatments with already-approved medicine or even completely new compounds. The current cure to the novel coronavirus may come through these two different approaches. 

For example, British artificial intelligence startup Benevolent AI is using their technology to search for existing approved drugs that might limit the virus’s infection. From the options they have been tested, the company is currently running trials with already-approved drug Baricitinib – a drug typically used to treat moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. 

The other approach to the problem could be through the discovery of a brand new molecule with the help of AI. Companies such as Maryland’s biotech company, Insilico, says it is using artificial intelligence to come up with a brand new molecule that could serve as the potential medication. Insilico is currently testing 100 new compounds to check their medical potential. 

Both cases show the increasing influence of technology in healthcare. Discovering new components is an expensive and exhaustive process, but with AI we can churn new compounds and molecules in a matter of seconds, expediting the whole discovery process in an unprecedented way.