Experts warn AI could generate ‘major epidemics or even pandemics’ — but how soon?

Experts researching advancements in artificial intelligence are now warning that AI models could create the next "enhanced pathogens capable of causing major epidemics or even pandemics."

The declaration was made in a paper published in the journal Science by co-authors from Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University and Fordham University, who say that AI models are being "trained on or [are] capable of meaningfully manipulating substantial quantities of biological data, from speeding up drug and vaccine design to improving crop yields."

"But as with any powerful new technology, such biological models will also pose considerable risks. Because of their general-purpose nature, the same biological model able to design a benign viral vector to deliver gene therapy could be used to design a more pathogenic virus capable of evading vaccine-induced immunity," researchers wrote in their abstract.

"Voluntary commitments among developers to evaluate biological models’ potential dangerous capabilities are meaningful and important but cannot stand alone," the paper continued. "We propose that national governments, including the United States, pass legislation and set mandatory rules that will prevent advanced biological models from substantially contributing to large-scale dangers, such as the creation of novel or enhanced pathogens capable of causing major epidemics or even pandemics."

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Although today’s AI models likely do not "substantially contribute" to biological risks, the "essential ingredients to create highly concerning advanced biological models may already exist or soon will," Time quoted the paper’s authors as saying.

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