Last Wednesday afternoon, it finally clicked
Last Wednesday at 4pm, at a Guomao café, my friend Lin Xuan (a synthetic biology PhD student) said "AI can now write DNA," and I froze for 5 seconds.
AI writing DNA is the same thing as writing your WeChat Moments
This sounds far from you. But AI writing DNA uses "large models" — basically AI trained on massive data. You use GPT to write WeChat copy, Midjourney for images — same underlying capability.
Lin Xuan told me his lab already uses AI like this to design DNA sequences for experiments. Abroad, companies like Cradle and Profluent specialize in "AI-designed proteins." AI no longer just writes text — it starts writing "real-world entities."
What does this mean for you? The AI tools you use have a much higher capability ceiling than you think. Last year AI could only write "passable" copy. This year it writes whole DNA sequences. Only one year apart.
I also got stuck in this trap: I used to think "AI is just so-so" until I saw it write code, contracts, and drug molecules — then I started taking it seriously.
What it costs to catch up today
Money: 0 yuan (it's public news)
Time: 15 minutes
Tech barrier: middle school English + can use a browser
First step: search "AI write DNA" on Xiaohongshu, pick the highest-viewed science video and watch it
Or: search "synthetic biology" on Jike App, subscribe to 1 blogger, skim weekly.
Different plays for three stages
If you're just starting (still finding direction): No rush to try now. But subscribe to 1 AI news WeChat account (like "Hardcore Hacker"), skim it twice a month.
If you have 1-2 clients: Add one line in your service intro — "I use AI to assist delivery" — let clients know you're using tools, not being replaced by them. That's actually a plus.
If you're scaling: Seriously audit which outsourced tasks AI can handle (design, copy, customer service replies), try cutting one outsourcing item per month.