Artificial Intelligence used to design brand new viruses
Researchers at Stanford have used generative AI to design fully functional, novel viruses that can replicate in a laboratory setting. While the viruses currently only target bacteria, the breakthrough raises significant safety and security concerns regarding AI-designed biological agents.
Why it matters
This development marks a major scientific milestone that could revolutionize medicine while simultaneously creating new risks for biosecurity.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, The AI models were trained on genetic codes from viruses, bacteria, plants and people
Health and science correspondent Published 5 hours ago Artificial Intelligence has been used to design brand new viruses that are fully functional and can replicate in the laboratory, say US researchers.
It is the first time whole genomes have been successfully designed by AI.
The resulting 16 novel viruses were created to infect bacteria and pose no threat to people.
The breakthrough has been labelled a "very significant turning point" in science that could unlock a new era for treating disease. But experts have also warned AI-designed viruses raise "urgent" safety and security concerns.
AI tools are rapidly advancing and have already been used to design new antibiotics.
But that is relatively simple compared with designing a new viable virus from scratch.
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