{"id":22283,"date":"2026-09-18T10:22:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T10:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=22283"},"modified":"2026-09-18T10:22:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T10:22:58","slug":"the-specter-of-ai-enabled-bioweapons-is-a-wake-up-call-for-biotech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=22283","title":{"rendered":"The specter of AI-enabled bioweapons is a wake-up call for biotech"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cWe\u2019ve got a constant back and forth,\u201d says Magnus. \u201cWe have to build better surveillance and screening tools, [but] AI is really good at figuring out ways around them.\u201d We\u2019ll probably need to use AI to find ways to restrict the use of AI, he says.<\/p>\n
I should add here that not all scientists agree on the level of risk. At a recent media briefing, some biologists at Imperial College London argued that AI tools just aren\u2019t good enough to fully develop bioweapons, and that testing new pathogens requires difficult, time-consuming, human work. Some think the guardrails we have in place are sufficient.<\/p>\n
And Wendy Barclay, a professor of infectious disease at Imperial, pointed out that, as things stand, the greatest risk of a pandemic isn\u2019t from a bioweapon, but from pathogens that are already circulating. Take H5N1,\u00a0the bird flu virus that has already killed millions of birds and spread widely through US dairy cattle; last month it was also\u00a0detected in captive mink at a farm in Utah.<\/p>\n
Sabra, on the other hand, likes to think five to 10 years ahead. Countries should be strengthening their health-care systems, preparing antidotes to known toxins, and stockpiling medicines, she says: \u201cWe need to be prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kevin Esvelt, an MIT biologist who invented both technology to fast-track the propagation of a genetic feature through an entire population and <\/em>ways to limit that technology, echoed these concerns in an\u00a0X post on Wednesday, stating that a large language model had \u201cdisclosed a novel form of bioweapon that I hadn\u2019t realized was possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cPlease, for the love of God, children, the future of humanity, or whatever you consider holy, let’s err on the side of caution here.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article first appeared in The Checkup,\u00a0<\/em>MIT Technology Review\u2019s\u00a0weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first,\u00a0<\/em>sign up here<\/em>.