Dr. Drew Taylor on Fast Company: Leveraging AI in Regenerative Medicine

Can artificial intelligence help us age better — or even turn back the clock? Acorn founder and CEO, Dr. Drew Taylor, tackled that question in a new episode of Fast Company's Adventures in AI video series.

In "This company wants to use AI to reverse aging — here's how", Dr. Taylor explains how AI is changing regenerative medicine, from how we evaluate stem cells to how treatments could one day be tailored to each person's biology.

Three Big Ideas From the Conversation

1. AI can read a stem cell from a single image.

Today, evaluating a stem cell means precise lab tests of its genetic makeup and surface markers. Dr. Taylor explains how AI is changing that:

"What we're actually taking a look at right now is the ability to just take a light image of that cell and look at its structure… now with AI, they're closing that gap, and they're able to actually interpret things just from the structure visually of that cell without running any of these complicated tests."

That means faster, simpler insight into which cells hold the most potential.

2. AI can make sense of biology too complex for any one person.

"Our biology is infinitely complex," Dr. Taylor says. Its layers constantly influence each other, and some of the changes that lead to damage or disease happen downstream of our genetics, where a genetic test alone won't catch them. AI can work across these huge, interconnected data sets in ways "that would be very, very difficult for a human mind to interpret."

The payoff is care built around the individual:

"The future of medicine is personalized. AI is now giving us the power and the ability to create that individualized plan for that patient, not generalized, but specifically catered to your own biology."

3. Longer lives bring new responsibilities.

Dr. Taylor is candid that the people building these tools have to anticipate what comes next. If science adds 30 healthy years after retirement that you didn't plan for, that becomes a financial problem: "I'm just trying to do good, but at the same time, I've now created a financial problem for you." He points to Japan, which changed its retirement age as people lived longer to keep its social security system from collapsing.

"Change is happening faster than policy always. We need to close this gap in the world of AI because this is moving faster and faster." - Dr. Drew Taylor

Why This Matters to Acorn

The ideas Dr. Taylor shares in the episode are central to how we think about the future. Better tools for understanding cell quality, and treatments designed around each person's biology, bring regenerative medicine closer to everyday reality. Our goal is to help people take a proactive step today so they're ready to benefit when those therapies arrive.

Watch the Full Episode

Watch Dr. Taylor’s episode on YouTube or on Fast Company: This company wants to use AI to reverse aging — here's how.

Curious about what preserving your cells could mean for your future health? Learn more about cell banking here.