Dean Ball's next-decade bets: AI-designed enzymes, superhuman smell sensors, moon robots
scottleibrand · x · 2026-10-10
Policy scholar Dean Ball adds two more predictions to his "things to be excited about next decade" thread:
- AI-designed custom enzymes: AI will enable enzymes that catalyze industrial and chemical manufacturing faster than existing methods, making some chemicals cheap enough for entirely new use cases; custom chemicals could also make rare-earth separation—currently a nasty process—far more efficient.
- Superhuman computer smell: sensors will detect disease on people and crops and monitor industrial processes, with potentially exciting biosecurity implications.
The original thread also expects massive mid-2030s space activity with robots building lunar habitats before humans arrive, and rising hydrocarbon substitutability stabilizing supply chains and prices.
Related event: Dean Ball Lists 8 Reasons for Optimism About the Next Decade(4 posts)→
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