An anonymous reader shared a report. Dario Amodei, CEO of high-profile AI startup Anthropic, told Congress last year that new AI technology could help unskilled but malicious actors carry out large-scale biological attacks (viruses and toxic agents). He said that it could soon help to create a virus (e.g., release of the virus) and cause widespread infection. sickness and death. Senators from both parties expressed concern, and AI researchers in industry and academia debated how serious the threat was. Currently, more than 90 biologists and other scientists specializing in AI techniques used to design new proteins, the microscopic mechanisms that power all creation in biology, are conducting AI-powered research. The two signed an agreement that aims to ensure that this can proceed without exposing the situation. cause serious damage to the world.
Biologists representing labs in the United States and other countries, including Nobel laureate Francis Arnold, argue that the benefits of cutting-edge technology, including new vaccines and new drugs, far outweigh the negatives. did. “As scientists involved in this research, we believe that the benefits of current AI techniques in protein design far outweigh any potential harms, and we are confident that our research will continue to be of benefit to everyone. We want to ensure that this continues to be the case,” the contract states. This agreement does not seek to curb the development or distribution of AI technology. Instead, biologists aim to regulate the use of the equipment needed to manufacture new genetic material. The DNA-manufacturing equipment could eventually make it possible to develop biological weapons, said David Baker, director of the Protein Design Institute at the University of Washington, who led the deal.