Veteran chemist with 125 total syntheses dares AI hype proponents to bet savings on AI routes
CatAstro_Piyush · x · 2026-11-15
Synthetic chemist Dirk Trauner pushes back on the hype around AI-driven total synthesis, daring industry promoters and funding agencies to bet their own savings on the success of AI-proposed routes. Across 30 years and 125+ total syntheses as a PI, he has seen only one case where every step worked as planned. 'Everything can look good on paper,' but chemistry inevitably punches back — and handling those setbacks is exactly what makes total synthesis valuable as a training ground for problem solvers.
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