AI designs 16 novel viruses never seen in nature: Scientific breakthrough or bio threat?

Artificial intelligence has designed 16 novel viruses never seen in nature that can replicate in a laboratory and target drug-resistant E. coli, U.S. researchers announced. Dr. Brian Hie and colleagues at Stanford University used genome language models trained on data from 2 million bacteriophages to generate the viruses, excluding genetic data for viruses infecting humans, animals and plants. Out of thousands of AI-generated options, nearly 300 were synthesized in the lab and 16 viable bacteriophages were found effective against antibiotic-resistant E. coli. Hie called it the first time generative AI has been used to design a complete genome that can replicate and have other functions inside cells. Tom Ellis, a professor of synthetic genome engineering at Imperial College London, said the work is impressive but noted it involves the smallest and easiest genome to make. Ellis said the threat from full AI design of a viral genome is overblown because modifying existing pathogens is easier and more likely to be a real pathogenic threat. Experts from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security warned that governance to safely steer generative viral genome design does not currently exist. Dr. Filippa Lentzos from King's College London emphasized regulation should take a layered approach focusing on model safeguards, responsible research review, DNA synthesis screening and lab biosafety.