The FDA was set up in the early 1900s to combat the adulteration and misbranding of food and drugs on the American market (a fascinating story). I mean, we can all agree that the things we put in, on, and around our bodies should be safe, do what they say, and are grounded in evidence.
No more. We are in the post-FDA era of goopy IVs, funky electrolytes, longevity dreams, designer peptides, and other quack ideas, powered by ChatGPT-fueled hallucinations and easy access to biotech tools.
As I say, ‘if it worked, it’d be called “medicine”.’
So, naturally, this story had me twitching.
The hyped AI-saved-my-dog story has reached its inevitable conclusion. Source: Of course the ChatGPT dog cancer vaccine spawned a startup | The Verge
Some dude used ChatGPT to try and cure his dog with an mRNA vaccine. Of course, the role of AI wasn’t clear and there’s no way to know if the mRNA was responsible for the dog’s cure.
But that’s not the real problem. Enthused by his perceived success, the dude has now made a company to do this for other dogs. Note: veterinary pharma is way more permissive than human Pharma. But I really don’t think the ethics change.
The thing is, I know people trying to make N-of-1 personalized mRNA and CRISPR treatments for humans. I know enough to know it ain’t that easy. If it were, Moderna and Vertex would have more successes (as would the overall pharma industry).
Am I being too alarmist?
