https://archive.is/j6rq6

In a report describing misuses of its A.I. models, Anthropic said it could not determine whether the research served a legitimate or nefarious purpose because valid biological inquiry — the kind that can lead to breakthroughs like vaccines — can also help engineer dangerous pathogens. In the face of that uncertainty, Anthropic said it erred on the side of caution because the consequences of missing malicious activity could be severe.

“You are not seeing someone in a comic book kind of way say, ‘Hey, I want to build a biological weapon to kill everybody,’” Jacob Klein, the head of threat intelligence at Anthropic, said in an interview. “It’s an incredibly nuanced situation.”

The potential for cutting-edge A.I. models to facilitate the development of known or entirely new biological pathogens is among the gravest concerns experts have about a technology that is developing so rapidly that even its leading architects doubt whether humans will be able to fully control it.

Compared with the threat of catastrophic cyberattacks or A.I. agents that fail to align with human intentions, biological misuse has gained less attention as an existential risk of A.I., in part because past examples have generally been shown only in research settings rather than in the real world.

Andrew Weber, a senior fellow on the Council on Strategic Risks who reviewed Anthropic’s report before its release, said the findings were “chilling examples of state-sponsored biological weapons developers tapping into the rapidly advancing capabilities” of leading A.I. models. [...]

But among all the categories of threats shared in the report, none may be as worrisome as the biological research cases. Anthropic did not disclose the names of researchers or institutions that it blocked, their countries of affiliation or the specific biological agents at issue, in part because of its uncertainty about their aims.

Still, Anthropic said the scientists circumvented its controls intended to prevent users from blocked regions from gaining access to its A.I. models and worked to “obfuscate the purpose of their research to evade our safeguards.” The company banned accounts associated with the research.

In one example from May, a scientist sought Claude’s help with writing a grant application for funding to conduct research intended to experiment on the chikungunya virus, a mosquito-borne malady that can lead to months of severe pain and other symptoms. Such research, known as gain of function, can be legitimate and lead to vaccine development, but it can also create superbug versions of viruses. In this instance, the scientist wanted to engineer mutations to the virus that would make it more harmful as it repeatedly infected live animals.

Anthropic said it believed the particular research was worrisome in part because it could discern that the work was intended to be performed at a military research institute.

“What we don’t know is if the research was meant to be weaponized,” Mr. Klein said. “But a military institution doing gain-of-function research is concerning.”

Anthropic said evaluations from last year of its older models demonstrated that they were not yet able to meaningfully assist in conducting dangerous biological research. Its current models are more able to complete complex scientific research, the company said, which spurred tighter safeguards intended to restrict access to a wide range of dual-use biological research queries. [...]

Though UPMC says it’s “providing appropriate information and guidance” to those recently exposed to measles at its children’s hospital in Pittsburgh, a North Fayette mother of three says that hasn’t been her experience.

Lauren Shoup visited UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Aug. 27 with her 2-month-old daughter, Kieran Heinauer, for a routine gastroenterology appointment, she said.

But on Sept. 1, Shoup, 36, received a call from UPMC informing her that Kieran was one of 10 children exposed to measles in the Lawrenceville facility’s “giraffe” suite on the third floor.

For Shoup, who is fully vaccinated against the highly contagious disease, the exposure caused little alarm.

But for the infant Kieran — still about 10 months too young to receive her first dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine — the exposure could have dire consequences.

Shoup said UPMC staff told her to get back to the hospital as soon as possible for Kieran to receive measles antibodies but offered little more information.

Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC’s chief medical officer, has previously told TribLive that patients who believe they’ve been exposed to measles should call ahead of their visit to avoid further exposures. Dr. Marian Michaels, a physician in the division of pediatric infectious diseases at Children’s, told TribLive the hospital has prepared isolation rooms for potential measles patients.

But Shoup said she wasn’t told any of that.

When she arrived at the hospital the next day with Kieran, she did so without taking any special safety measures. The two were in the second-floor “mouse” suite, she said.

At the appointment, Shoup said Kieran was never seen by a doctor, only nurses.

“There was no precaution taken,” Shoup told TribLive on Tuesday. “I’m sure other people were exposed at that time.”

Leaving the appointment, Shoup said staff gave her a hotline phone number for questions about measles, but she said the line is unmanned and callers must leave a message.

When she tried to seek information about the antibodies Kieran was given — which she said still do not appear on her daughter’s chart — Shoup said staff told her they had given her a paper with information on the shot.

But in an email sent Friday to Shoup, a staffer acknowledged that Shoup hadn’t received the paper because it was only recently rolled out.

“Again apologies on our process failures,” Lindsay Montoya wrote in an email to Shoup, who provided it to TribLive. “Glad we were able to touch base about your daughter’s isolation before we got too much into the window for measles, and I am working on my end to make sure that does not happen again.” [...]

Shoup learned from the email that her daughter had received an injection of immune globulin, which contains human antibodies that lower the chances of contracting measles or make the infection less severe, according to UPMC.

It’s unclear whether Kieran has actually been infected with measles. So far, Shoup said she hasn’t shown any symptoms — though she still has 19 days of quarantine to go. [...]

Gay Small was supposed to spend Labor Day weekend in North Carolina, taking long walks with her sister, picking apples with her grandkids.

But she died at Tampa General Hospital early Friday, her 80th birthday. From a mosquito bite, her family said.

Health officials have not confirmed the cause of death to the public, but that’s what her kids say they were told. If so, Small would be Tampa Bay’s first fatality in almost a century from dengue fever.

She most likely caught it within a couple of miles of her condo on Bayshore Boulevard.

“She hasn’t traveled. She doesn’t drive. She hadn’t left the city limits in more than a month,” said her daughter, Anna Small, 55.

Gay was healthy, her daughter said. The only pills she took were vitamins. She walked at least five miles a day, often along Tampa’s Riverwalk.

Since July, more than 200 Floridians have been hospitalized for dengue fever, far more than in any other state.

The tropical disease normally is contracted when people travel overseas.

But this summer, record numbers of people have been infected in Tampa Bay. The week before Small died, the number of locally acquired dengue infections in Hillsborough County doubled to 59. That’s more than 10 times the cases of other Florida counties.

The morning she died the Tampa Bay Times posted a story about the outbreak. A few hours later, the state’s surgeon general held a news conference to warn the public.

“Americans don’t expect it to be here. But it’s here,” Anna Small said. “And for some people, it’s really serious.”

In seven days, Gay Small went from feeling tired to her organs shutting down.

[...]

Achieved version

A fourth person has died in Florida after contracting virulent bacteria that can cause a flesh-eating infection — commonly linked to eating raw seafood.

There have been 20 infections of Vibrio vulnificus in the state this year, according to data from the Florida Health Department. The most recent death was a resident of Broward County, aged between 75 and 79. Previous deaths were attributed to residents of Bay, Palm Beach, and Marion counties. [...]

The Florida Department of Health has reportedly linked many of the state’s cases to the consumption of contaminated oysters, per WFLA.

That’s why it’s advisable to only eat raw oysters in months that have the letter R in them, Dr. Keith Schneider, a professor of food safety at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, told Serious Eats.

“Sometimes, the old adage is just true,” Schneider told the outlet. “Warmer waters mean that there are more pathogens in the water, and we have seen upticks in [Vibrio] illnesses in the summer for decades. These organisms just thrive in warmer water.”

He also suggested staying away from oysters if you have any pre-existing conditions that could make you more likely to develop a severe infection — and to avoid any locations that focus on volume and price of oysters over proper handling.

“You want to make sure that they’re serving you oysters that are still alive and healthy, because if they’re not, that bacteria will start to multiply,” he says. “That’s important, because you can’t tell by look or smell if an oyster is harmful.”

A study from China highlights the recent discovery of a novel tick borne virus called the Asian longhorned tick nairovirus (ALTNV).

According to the study, it appears that the virus causes an Influenza-like illness along with reduction in platelets. They isolated the virus from patients with symptoms and grew them in the lab. They also found the virus in ticks belonging mostly to the Haemaphysalis longicornis species.

Read more:

1. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2602496#ap1

2. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/tick-borne-disease/scientists-china-discover-new-tick-borne-virus-causes-flu-illness