The Download: AI’s extinction risk and bioweapons threat

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

Could AI really kill us all? Your questions, answered

On Wednesday, MIT Technology Review hosted a live Roundtables event that asked the question many seem to be asking right now: could AI really kill us all? But attendees had more questions than we had time to answer, so we asked senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven and AI reporter Grace Huckins to tackle some of the best ones. 

The questions they tried to answer include: am I going to die? Why should AI kill us, if at all? Is AI really dangerous, or is it just tech companies drumming up PR? And what steps can be taken to make sure AI is controlled, monitored and regulated effectively?

Here are their responses.

—Will Douglas Heaven and Grace Huckins

The specter of AI-enabled bioweapons is a wake-up call for biotech

One of the ways AI could potentially cause catastrophic harm is by aiding the design and creation of bioweapons. In 2022, researchers found that it was remarkably easy to do this with an AI “molecule generator” built to develop drugs. In less than six hours, the model generated 40,000 molecules that could serve as chemical warfare agents. 

Today, AI tools can answer questions on almost every area of science, while advances in gene editing and synthetic biology have made biotech tools more accessible. There are safeguards, but none are ironclad. However, scientists disagree about how serious the risk is anyway.

Find out why it’s easier than ever to design killer pathogens.

—Jessica Hamzelou

This story is from The Checkup, our weekly biotech newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Thursday.

The role of the astronaut is in flux

We go to space for geopolitical prestige, manifest destiny, spiritual fulfillment, scientific curiosity, and, increasingly, business opportunities. In the wake of Artemis II, a slew of new books suggest that these justifications are subsumed by one unifying fact: humans have itchy feet, and we are simply wired to roam. 

In The Ultraview Effect, space anthropologist Deana L. Weibel frames human space exploration as part of our need to embark on pilgrimages. In A Heart for Space, civilian astronaut Eiman Jahangir recounts one such voyage with Blue Origin. And in Dinner with an Astronaut, former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao argues that people simply “need to know what’s on the other side.”

See what these three new books have to say about why we go to space.

—Becky Ferreira

This story is from our latest print magazine, which is all about kids. Subscribe now to receive every issue when it lands.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 Microsoft and OpenAI workers say AI is destroying the web
Cannibalizing clicks from websites obliterates the business models that keep fresh content coming. (404 Media)
+ The employees showed concern that publishers couldn’t survive AI scraping. (NYT $)
+ The comments emerged during the NYT’s copyright case. (WP $)
+ They could weaken OpenAI and Microsoft’s defense. (Reuters $)
+ AI means the end of internet search as we’ve known it. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Robot boats have fought each other for the first time
A Ukrainian vessel sank a Russian one in combat. (New Scientist $)
+ US firms are building combat-ready humanoids. (WSJ $)

3 Security researchers breached OpenAI using Anthropic’s tools
They reached an employee’s ChatGPT account and internal code. (FT $)
+ They exploited a third-party forum to reach internal systems. (WSJ $)

4 OpenAI reportedly expects to soon crack another famous math problem
But can it avoid another backlash when announcing it? (Information $)
+ The problem it expects to solve is the Hodge Conjecture. (Gizmodo)
+ OpenAI’s math controversies contain concerning clues about the field’s future. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Elon Musk’s SpaceXAI wants to buy data from failed startups
It’s seeking new sources of training data for Grok. (Bloomberg $
+ And it’s targeting customer and operational data. (Gizmodo)
+ OpenAI is paying to create new biology data. (MIT Technology Review)

6 Schools are pushing back against Big Tech’s classroom takeover
AI is accelerating concerns about corporate influence. (New Yorker $)
+ We need smarter AI use in schools. (MIT Technology Review)

7 Hackers have revealed how Flock cameras track cars—and people
One camera captured 1.6 million images of 50,000 vehicles. (Wired $)
+ The cameras also detect people and misidentify objects. (404 Media)

8 Chinese firms doubled down on science after US tech restrictions
They produced 72% more patents citing scientific papers. (Nature)

9 A three-year-old’s cancer disappeared after an experimental cell therapy
CAR T therapy may finally be able to treat solid tumors. (Gizmodo)

10 NYC’s new robotoilets will kick you out after 10 minutes
The doors automatically open when the timer runs out. (Fast Company)

Quote of the day

“The largest theft of labor in human history.” 

—Microsoft’s director of Applied Science, Brent Hecht, raises his concerns over training data used for AI systems in comments revealed in court filings from the New York Times vs OpenAI copyright lawsuit.

One more thing

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is ready to transform our understanding of the cosmos

High atop Chile’s 2,700-meter Cerro Pachón, the air is clear and dry, leaving few clouds to block the beautiful view of the stars. It’s here that the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is using a car-size 3,200-megapixel digital camera—the largest ever built—to produce a new map of the entire night sky every three days.

Generating 20 terabytes of data per night, Rubin will capture fine details about the solar system, the Milky Way and the large-scale structure of the cosmos. Over 10 years, it will catalogue billions of new objects, offering an unprecedented look at what’s changing in the universe.

Step inside the observatory mapping the cosmos in a way we’ve never seen before.

—Adam Mann

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.)

+ Sherry the dog has become a mama to any kitten that doesn’t have a mother.
+ These seven life lessons from puzzle king Will Shortz go well beyond the crossword grid.
+ Hear “Stairway to Heaven” in a whole new light as ancient Japanese court music meets epic rock.
+ Check out the dazzling images that scooped the top prizes at the Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest.

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