The Barcelona Collaboratorium successfully hosted the 2025 edition of its Annual Symposium on 10–11 November 2025.

The meeting brought together researchers from multiple labs and disciplines in Barcelona, across Europe and beyond, to discuss how to move from correlation to causation in biology and what artificial intelligence can realistically contribute to this effort.

Invited speakers presented work at the interface of experimental biology, theory and computation, highlighting how AI and machine learning can support sharper causal inference and more robust predictions, with the potential to inform better experiments, therapies and decisions.

Poster contributors also played a key role in the programme, showcasing ongoing projects and helping to make the event a lively space for discussion and exchange.

This year’s edition focused on how causal inference can be drawn from complex biological data, and on the extent to which machine learning and AI can – and cannot – reveal true causal relationships to drive predictive, actionable biology.