They genetically engineered a kind of bacteria that divides into non-living 'nanocells' that can't multiply further. These cells contain a special kind of RNA and a cell entry mechanism that lets them enter the cancer cells. The RNA interrupts the cell's ability to prepare for division. The article kind of implied that these nanocells follow the bloodstream pathways that cancer cells open when they metastasize.
The researchers main concern was whether those nanoncells would also enter healthy cells, but the tests seem to show healthy cells were not affected.
Kind of like proving that you can't solve the halting problem, it lets us put to rest the idea that you can reduce the complexity of NP problems to a deterministic polynomial solution. The collective brainpower can be used to solve other problems.
I saw a demo recently where someone used Microsoft Bot Framework for what you described. Can't find the video at the moment, but might be worth looking into. [https://dev.botframework.com/]
[Edit] I had an essay explaining why, but long story short... it's just that I had the same experiences on my old team as you described, so I left out of frustration for what I consider my dream job. Now it feels ruined because I can't really start fresh, and I moved halfway across the country to take this new role. How are we doing on time travel? Any progress?
https://knightstourney.com