So researchers have used AI to make new viruses and broadcast the achievement to the world!
This could be fine, but given the commentaries alongside it seems there is some disagreement at least.
“But concerns have already been raised that the same technology could be used maliciously to create new disease
“In a commentary accompanying the publication in the journal Science, Dr Thomas Inglesby and Dr Moritz Hanke from the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University wrote that the findings raise “urgent biosafety and biosecurity questions”.
They said it was no longer a question of “whether generative viral genome design will exist” but whether it can be used without “enabling serious harm”.
For example, they said new viruses with the potential to cause disease “should not be pursued”.
The researchers themselves took steps to maximise safety. They excluded viruses that could infect complex organisms from the training database, performed the research on phage rather than viruses that infect people and it all took place in a secure laboratory.”
I’m interested in what biosec people here think. Is making virus’s and publicising the achievement genuinely OK and safe at this point with the safeguards, or could it be net bad?
So researchers have used AI to make new viruses and broadcast the achievement to the world!
This could be fine, but given the commentaries alongside it seems there is some disagreement at least.
“But concerns have already been raised that the same technology could be used maliciously to create new disease
“In a commentary accompanying the publication in the journal Science, Dr Thomas Inglesby and Dr Moritz Hanke from the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University wrote that the findings raise “urgent biosafety and biosecurity questions”.
They said it was no longer a question of “whether generative viral genome design will exist” but whether it can be used without “enabling serious harm”.
For example, they said new viruses with the potential to cause disease “should not be pursued”.
The researchers themselves took steps to maximise safety. They excluded viruses that could infect complex organisms from the training database, performed the research on phage rather than viruses that infect people and it all took place in a secure laboratory.”
I’m interested in what biosec people here think. Is making virus’s and publicising the achievement genuinely OK and safe at this point with the safeguards, or could it be net bad?
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y3j3ngevmo