by Paul Dragu, The New American:
Humans are creating viruses from scratch using the same artificial intelligence technology that has been making the news for going rogue. A study published last week reveals that scientists used AI to create 16 brand-new viruses.
“A new study conducted by scientists at Stanford University and the Arc Institute succeeded in having an AI design simple, functional, and previously unseen viruses based on information contained in the genetic sequences of millions of animals, plants, microbes, bacteria, and viruses found in nature,” WIRED summarized in an article published Friday. But don’t worry, because “these viruses infect only bacteria, making them a tool with enormous biotechnological potential and a promising alternative to antibiotics for combating resistant bacterial infections.”
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The scientists used AI models Evo 1 and Evo 2 to create the viruses. The models were made specifically for biology applications.
Gain-of-Function Rerun
The arguments in support of this type of research sound eerily similar to the ones we’ve heard for gain-of-function experimentation. The authors of the study say it “lays out a path for generating adaptive and resilient phage therapies against rapidly evolving pathogens.”
WIRED summarized the supposed benefits of AI-generated viruses this way:
The discovery opens up new possibilities for tackling the growing problem of bacterial resistance. According to the researchers, this approach could facilitate the development of personalized treatments capable of evolving at nearly the same rate as the pathogens themselves.
For comparison, here is a white paper from 2016 explaining the benefits of gain-of-function research:
Such research, when conducted by responsible scientists, usually aims to improve understanding of disease causing agents, their interaction with human hosts, and/or their potential to cause pandemics. The ultimate objective of such research is to better inform public health and preparedness efforts and/or development of medical countermeasures.
The danger posed by gain-of-function research has always been known. As the authors of the white paper acknowledged 10 years ago, “[Gain-of-function] research can pose risks regarding biosecurity and biosafety.” Gain-of-function research makes viruses more contagious and potent. And we’ve likely been the victims of that reckless type of experimentation. Congressional inquiries, independent journalists, and even the head of Health and Human Services have made a strong case that Covid-19 was the result of gain-of-function research. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has gone even further. He told Fox News and CNN that other ailments Americans have suffered from are the result of gain-of-function study:
Clearly, the COVID-19 pandemic and many other global pandemics that we have had have come from gain-of-function research. The RSV epidemic that we have, which is the biggest killer of kids in this country today, came from these kinds of experiments. Lyme disease almost certainly came from this kind of research.
Not surprisingly, the propagandists posing as fact-checkers have jumped on Kennedy’s claim. But Kennedy has a better track record than the “fact-checkers.”
No Guardrails
As with gain-of-function, there is an obvious risk to using AI to create viruses. And, once again, it’s the people on the frontier admitting this. Doctors from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security said:
Although this is promising for life sciences applications, it also raises urgent biosafety and biosecurity questions. The ability to compose viral genomes using generative AI now exists; the governance to safely steer it does not.
The obvious concern is that this technology could end up being used to create deadly pathogens that harm humans. Dr. Moritz Hanke is with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, though he was not involved with this study. He told The New York Times that “there’s just a huge disconnect” between the pace of these developments and “guardrails that could block the creation of a deadly virus.” WIRED summarized the risks this way:
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