Hi Ella, ChimeraX does not use AI when you simply open an atomic structure and change its display. There are some structure prediction tools in ChimeraX that use AI methods, but from what you said, you are not using ChimeraX for predicting new structures. The use of AI in these tools is clearly explained in their help pages (AlphaFold, Boltz, ESMFold, OpenFold) in the ChimeraX User Guide. I hope this helps, Elaine ----- Elaine C. Meng, Ph.D. UCSF Chimera(X) team Resource for Biocomputing, Visualization, and Informatics Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry University of California, San Francisco
On Mar 18, 2026, at 3:06 AM, Ella Wenøe via ChimeraX-users <chimerax-users@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:
Dear ChimeraX Support Team, I am currently working on a school research project in which I use ChimeraX to visualize and edit protein structures downloaded from the Protein Data Bank. Before I proceed, I would like to clarify one technical point: Does ChimeraX use any form of artificial intelligence or machine‑learning algorithms when loading, displaying, or editing PDB structures? In my project, I have only uploaded an existing PDB structure and made simple visual edits (such as coloring, hiding domains, etc.). I have not used any extensions, plugins, or prediction tools. However, my school requires that no AI‑based software is used unless explicitly stated, so I want to ensure that ChimeraX’s core functions do not rely on AI. Any clarification you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for your time. Kind regards, Ella Sophie Wenøe