SciPoll 396: SOT/EUROTOX Debate: Is There a Role for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in Risk Decisions?
Are there any of the following applications you would have high confidence in AI- and ML-based toxicity prediction models being useful? (Please select all that apply and feel free to explain and include any citations you think relevant)
Results
(124 Answers)
Answer Explanations
- Prioritization/screening of candidate agents Fill data gaps Relative potencies Read acrossuser-711942
There will be a need for interpretation and implementation.
- Prioritization/screening of candidate agents Other (please explain below)user-320876
statistical analyses.
- Fill data gaps Relative potencies Read across Quantitative risk assessmentuser-918734
Selected seems less problematic. Prioritization will be the most difficult prediction model given the evolution of values.
- Prioritization/screening of candidate agents Fill data gaps Hazard ID/endpoint alertsuser-446741
Only non-critical data gaps.
Some level of quantitation is currently achievable for some endpoints allowing use for setting exposure limits for low-exposure compounds for example.
- Prioritization/screening of candidate agents Read across Hazard ID/endpoint alerts Other (please explain below)user-90122
What computational toxicology, cheminformatics, nanoinformatics, etc already does great is summarize patterns and point is to prominent effects. I recommend reading the literature about AI/ML has been used in the past 20 years in medicinal chemistry, e.g. the articles by Yvonne Martin (https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=YKsl2jEAAAAJ).
- user-271773
Too early to guess, and the options considered for AI or ML might also be best themselves addressed with AI. Training is necessary but constraint based on, for example, the 1950's bright line decision approaches we rely on, might waste value or create harm
- Quantitative risk assessmentuser-542826
For QRA based on actual data
- user-43697
As mentioned, the available models are of no use in toxicology for the time being. Of course, this is no impediment for some to use them anyway, but the old adage "garbage in - garbage out" still applies. The least damage would probably be done by using AI for prioritizing purposes or screening of candidate agents. However, better and somewhat more relevant models (in vitro screening assays, HTS) are already avaliable and well-established and I do not see any immediate need for half-baked computer-based models.
- Prioritization/screening of candidate agents Relative potencies Read across Hazard ID/endpoint alertsuser-571430
Data gaps require more detailed focussed experiments. Quantitative risk assessment requires a dose-response relationship which might be liner or nonlinear, and it is not always predictable.
- Prioritization/screening of candidate agents Relative potencies Hazard ID/endpoint alerts Quantitative risk assessmentuser-441980
AI & ML will certainly help in the screening of candidate agents to prioritize, to identify susceptive groups, risk prediction.
- user-598239
Again "high confidence" is a high bar. In general parlance, this may be equivalent to proof beyond a reasonable doubt. If so, none at the moment.
If it is preponderance of the evidence, then this is a different level and then maybe initial hazard ID and initial screening.
- user-678105
No confidence based on my experience.
- Prioritization/screening of candidate agents Fill data gaps Relative potencies Read across Hazard ID/endpoint alerts Quantitative risk assessmentuser-74194
A human or better a small group of humans still needs to evaluate the results.
- Prioritization/screening of candidate agents Fill data gaps Relative potencies Read across Hazard ID/endpoint alertsuser-125195
EPA's tox cast program was developed using such approaches as a means to screen and prioritize the US commercial chemical inventory to identify candidate agents that merit priority consideration and those that can wait. As part of this effort the approaches used hazard id/endpoint alerts, relative potency considerations and read across-like considerations to identify candidates. They have also been used in regulatory agencies and industry to fill data gaps such the reliable prediction of pchem properties for certain well characterized classes of chemicals where such have not been actually measured for certain members of that class
- Prioritization/screening of candidate agents Read across Other (please explain below)user-63535
Predicting results of specific studies
- Prioritization/screening of candidate agents Read across Hazard ID/endpoint alerts Quantitative risk assessmentuser-901200
Currently the main impediment is the lack of a reliable gold standard to train our models. We are often required to use results from existing in vivo assays as if they were the ultimate gold standard to achieve, when they are very noisy and inconsistent, even when repeating the exact same assay with the same model organism.
- Prioritization/screening of candidate agents Fill data gaps Hazard ID/endpoint alerts Quantitative risk assessmentuser-77300
These may represent future applications
- Prioritization/screening of candidate agents Relative potencies Read across Quantitative risk assessmentuser-377267
As soon as some data (in vitro, QSARs, biomarkers, blood levels etc.) are available, AI and ML can be very helpful. Such cases mainly comprise Dose-response-modeling, benchmark dose identification, uncertainty analysis and kinetic modeling (including body burden considerations)
- Prioritization/screening of candidate agents Fill data gaps Relative potencies Hazard ID/endpoint alertsuser-532952
Not sure I would trust them for quantitative risk assessment unless samples were large enough. and the evidence was good.
- Fill data gaps Quantitative risk assessmentuser-995929
They can help to fill data gaps but not for extrapolation.
Quantitative risk assessment is possible strong area where AI, ML can contribute. - Prioritization/screening of candidate agents Read acrossuser-900365
With the limited data - AI/ML is great in screening and prioritize chemicals for further testings.
- Fill data gaps Read acrossuser-986831
Based
- Read across Hazard ID/endpoint alertsuser-480186
Useful but not completely reliable.