Experts Alarmed That AI Is Now Producing Functional Viruses

"In the study, the Stanford researchers used an AI model called Evo to invent DNA for a bacteriophage, a virus that infects bacteria. Unlike a general purpose large language model like ChatGPT, which is trained on written language, Evo was exclusively trained on millions of bacteriophage genomes. They focused on an extensively studied phage called phiX174, which is known to infect strains of the bacteria E. coli."

"In real world experiments, a team of Stanford researchers demonstrated that a virus with AI-written DNA could target and kill specific bacteria, they announced in a study last week. Using the EVO AI model, the team came up with 302 candidate genomes based on phiX174 and put them to the test by using the designs to chemically assemble new viruses. Sixteen of them worked, infecting and killing the E. coli strains. Some of them were even deadlier than the natural form of the virus."

"But experts say it also opened a Pandora's box. Bad actors could just as easily use AI to crank out novel bioweapons, keeping doctors and governments on the backfoot with the outrageous pace at which these viruses can be designed, warn Tal Feldman, a Yale Law School student who formerly built AI models for the federal government, and Jonathan Feldman, a computer science and biology researcher at Georgia Tech (no word on whether the two are related)."

An AI model named Evo was trained exclusively on millions of bacteriophage genomes to generate bacteriophage DNA sequences. Using phiX174 as a template, Evo produced 302 candidate genomes that were chemically assembled into new viruses. Sixteen of those candidates infected and killed E. coli strains, with several showing greater lethality than the natural phage. Artificially designed phages offer potential for targeted therapies and infection control. The same capabilities lower barriers for creating novel pathogens, enabling malicious actors to exploit open pathogen data and rapidly design bioweapons, creating urgent biosecurity and preparedness challenges.

Read at Futurism