AI Can Now Design Functional Viruses. Should We Worry?
Summary
IEEE Spectrum reports that researchers used a genomic language model to design functional bacteriophages, demonstrating that AI can generate working viral genomes at small scale. While this hints at future AI-guided therapies, it also raises biosafety and dual-use concerns, underscoring the need for oversight and governance. The article discusses the technical process, novelty limits, and the cost/effort involved.