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I've been wondering about this for a while now: Does F@H actually still have a real purpose, or is it purely a vanity project at this point? My lay impression
by kyboren 3y ago
I've been wondering about this for a while now: Does F@H actually still have a real purpose, or is it purely a vanity project at this point?
My lay impression is that AlphaFold (and now AlphaFold v2) solves the same problem F@H solves, but better, faster, and cheaper (at least, if compute power wasn't all donated).
Is that not true? Are they somehow complementary? Just how much did AlphaFold eat F@H's lunch?
- 0cf8612b2e1e 3y agoF@H is a physics simulation. It is going to get closer to truth as we understand it. AlphaFold is going to be more pattern matching based on previously identified relationships. AF did a tremendous amount of work in patching up our spotty structure database, but those hairy, novel regions are still going to require extensive computation to model, which is better done by simulation.
- I_Am_Nous 3y agoF@H simulates down to the atoms to verify, while AlphaFold uses AI to take shortcuts humans can't see with our limited variable tracking ability. If the projects start working together, I can potentially see AlphaFold generating simulations of interest and sending them to Folding@Home to distribute and verify. They are both working towards the same goal, but with different methods. Sort of like DSL vs Cable internet - both deliver the internet but how it gets there and what each technology allows you to do due to the difference between telephone lines and coaxial cable are quite different, and can even run side by side for extra coverage in case of an ISP outage :)