Microsoft says AI can create "zero day" threats in biology

Microsoft says AI can create "zero day" threats in biology Artificial intelligence can design toxins that evade security controls. A team at Microsoft says it used artificial intelligence to discover a zero day vulnerability in the biosecurity systems used to prevent the misuse of DNA. These screening systems are designed to stop people from purchasing genetic sequences that could be used to create deadly toxins or pathogens. But now researchers led by Microsoft's chief scientist, Eric Horvitz, say they have figured out how to bypass the protections in a way previously unknown to defenders. The team described its work today in the journal . Horvitz and his team focused on generative AI algorithms that propose new protein shapes.