Scientists have created new viruses using AI. Here’s how they did it

(Gray News) - Artificial Intelligence has been used to design brand new viruses.

According to The New York Times, scientists have used AI to create viruses in hopes of medical advances, but it has also raised concerns that the technology could possibly be used to invent dangerous pathogens.

The study, which was shared online, says this was the first time complete genomes were successfully designed by AI that resulted in 16 novel viruses.

The team reportedly used AI to recognize natural DNA patterns before using the data to create viruses not found in nature.

“Our approach expands what synthetic genomics can achieve alongside methods such as directed evolution and rational engineering,” the study shared.

The viruses that were made were said not to pose a threat to humans because they were similar to a naturally occurring virus that can infect only bacteria.

But the breakthrough has also provoked fears that the reported technology used points to AI’s ability to design new biology outside of the natural world.

Dr. Moritz Hanke, with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, shared with The NY Times that governments and scientific organizations have been slow to develop guardrails that could block the creation of a deadly virus.

“There’s just a huge disconnect,” Hanke was quoted as saying regarding the situation.

According to the BBC, the technology used in the study was similar to what ChatGPT uses, but in this case it predicted the language of life rather than sequences of text.

Prof Patrick Cai, of the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, called the study an “important milestone.”

“The significance extends far beyond phages; it suggests that genome language models are beginning to learn the design principles encoded by evolution, opening the door to AI-assisted genome writing,” Cai was quoted by the BBC.

Researchers noted that they did not provide the model used with data about viruses that infect humans, and they also used safety measures to exclude similar viruses that infect other animals, plants and fungi. Therefore, the technology used could not generate genomes of viruses that could threaten humans.