Lab automation only handles cookie-cutter assays — the long tail is what stifles innovation
anshulkundaje · x · 2026-10-11
Stanford professor Anshul Kundaje amplifies a thread on lab automation: current infrastructure (liquid handlers, robotic arms moving plates) is well-suited for a small number of cookie-cutter assays run many times, but fails at the inverse — the long tail of different assays each run once, with workflows changing on the fly every run.
The original thread by @hsalis adds an underdiscussed cost: while automation brings more measurements and faster turnaround, it stymies innovation, because innovation lives exactly in that non-standardizable long tail. Full lab automation will be possible, but would require a very different — possibly completely different — type of automation infrastructure.
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