Should we worry AI will create deadly bioweapons? Artificial intelligence promises to transform biology, allowing us to design better drugs, vaccines and even synthetic organisms for, say, eating waste plastic. But some fear it could also be used for darker purposes, to create bioweapons that wouldn't be detected by conventional methods until it was too late. So, how worried should we be? "AI advances are fuelling breakthroughs in biology and medicine," says Eric Horvitz, chief scientific officer at Microsoft. "With new power comes responsibility for vigilance." His team has published a study looking at whether AI could design proteins that do the same thing as proteins that are known to be dangerous, but are different enough that they wouldn't be recognised as dangerous.

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.

Artificial intelligence can draw cat pictures and write emails. A research team in California says it used AI to propose new genetic codes for viruses--and managed to get several of them to replicate and kill bacteria. The work, described in a preprint paper, has the potential to create new treatments and accelerate research into artificially engineered cells. But experts believe it is also an "impressive first step" toward AI-designed life forms. Hydrogen is sometimes held up as a master key for the energy transition. It can be made using several low-emissions methods and could play a role in cleaning up industries ranging from agriculture to aviation to shipping.

Can AI create a life form? These "generative" genomes are a start Artificial intelligence can draw cat pictures and write emails. A research team in California says it used AI to propose new genetic codes for viruses--and managed to get several of these viruses to replicate and kill bacteria. The scientists, based at Stanford University and the nonprofit Arc Institute, both in Palo Alto, say the germs with AI-written DNA represent the "the first generative design of complete genomes." The work, described in a preprint paper, has the potential to create new treatments and accelerate research into artificially engineered cells. It is also an "impressive first step" toward AI-designed life forms, says Jef Boeke, a biologist at NYU Langone Health, who was provided an advance copy of the paper by .