“Scientists Use AI to Create Entirely New Viruses – and Give Urgent Warning”
August 7th, 2026Via: Independent:
AI has been used to create new viruses for the first ever time – and researchers have warned that it could be the beginning of a dangerous new trend.
In the new study, researchers used an artificial intelligence system to make bacteriophages, a virus that infect bacteria and are used to treat infections. The newly developed viruses are able to kill E coli bugs that could not be treated with naturally occurring viruses, the scientists say.
But scientists warned that it could represent a dangerous new moment in safety and security. The technology appears to be racing ahead of the ability to use it safely, experts away from the study warned.
“Although this is promising for life sciences applications, it also raises urgent biosafety and biosecurity questions,” wrote Tom Inglesby and Moritz Hanke, from the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. “The ability to compose viral genomes using generative AI now exists; the governance to safely steer it does not.”
The scientists behind the study recognised the potential danger of the work. They urged others taking part in similar research to ““consult both safety and security professionals throughout the project”.
