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Governments are waking up to biosecurity risks — but we must act fast

Researchers at MIT recently conducted an experiment. They asked undergraduate students to test whether AI-driven chatbots could be prompted to assist non-experts in causing a pandemic. Within an hour the chatbots had suggested four potential pandemic pathogens, explained how they could be created from synthetic DNA using reverse genetics, and supplied the names of DNA synthesis companies judged unlikely to screen orders.

Developing bioweapons is not that easy, and chatbot instructions currently only go so far, but the experiment shows what can happen when AI technology barrels through scientific knowledge. The troubling fact is that large language models and new biological design tools are dramatically lowering the barriers to engineering the next pandemic. The former Google CEO Eric Schmidt describes AI-designed bioweapons as “a very near-term concern”.

Governments are finally waking up to the scale of emerging biological risks. Last month the UK published its Biological Security Strategy, and committed £1.5bn in annual funding to counter the threat. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is concluding its first Biodefense Posture Review, assessing how prepared the US is to deal with bioweapons and future pandemics. Globally, 194 countries are currently negotiating a pandemic treaty, which will strengthen international resilience to biological events.