The artificial intelligence models underpinning chatbots could help plan an attack with a biological weapon, according to research by a US thinktank. A report by the Rand Corporation released on Monday tested several large language models (LLMs) and found they could supply guidance that "could assist in the planning and execution of a biological attack". However, the preliminary findings also showed that the LLMs did not generate explicit biological instructions for creating weapons. The report said previous attempts to weaponise biological agents, such as an attempt by the Japanese Aum Shinrikyo cult to use botulinum toxin in the 1990s, had failed because of a lack of understanding of the bacterium. AI could "swiftly bridge such knowledge gaps", the report said.

That was the open call for submissions about emerging technology's role in global order put out last summer by the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI). RAND researchers stepped up to the challenge, and a wide range of ideas were submitted. Ten essays were ultimately accepted for publication. The NSCAI, co-chaired by Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive of Alphabet (Google's parent company), and Robert Work, the former deputy secretary of defense, is a congressionally mandated, independent federal commission set up last year "to consider the methods and means necessary to advance the development of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and associated technologies by the United States to comprehensively address the national security and defense needs of the United States." The commission's ultimate role is to elevate awareness and to inform better legislation.

Earlier this year, 116 technology luminaries signed an open letter (PDF) imploring the United Nations to ban "lethal autonomous weapons systems," warning that they would "permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever." According to the Independent, it "marks the first time that artificial intelligence (AI) experts and robotics companies have taken a joint stance on the issue." Not all observers are as concerned; Andrew Ng, up until recently Baidu's chief scientist, concludes that "worrying about killer robots is like worrying about overpopulation on Mars--we'll have plenty of time to figure it out." In the early years of the 21st century, few topics have generated more intense interest, or elicited more spirited debate, than AI, beginning with the very understanding of the term: one observer quipped this March that "there are about as many definitions of AI as researchers developing the technology." Robbie Whiting, a founder of the brand consulting firm Junior, contends that "AI is not a buzzword, and it is going to change the world."