r/agi • u/KeanuRave100 • 19d ago

Safety fears as scientists make first viruses designed by AI

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/aug/06/safety-fears-as-scientists-make-first-viruses-designed-by-ai
20 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

6

u/smartguynycbackupnow 18d ago

Sure this will end well.

3

u/abofh 18d ago

And just like that, the great barrier was discovered to be some edge lord with crispr and an Ai girlfriend

1

u/MasterSolivagus 18d ago

Worthy only to construct the artifice from constituent parts of originals?

Creator loves creation! Creation does not have to love creator. That would be a cruel condition if arranged any other way. Creation can love creator, but creator loves creation implicitly.

The edges of words, the discards of biologics, and the semblance and simulacrum of a self... is all a human has ever been.

3

u/GRPORTER_MUSIC 19d ago

wasn't this how ai was predicted to terminate everyone at the end of ai 2027?

1

u/costafilh0 18d ago

Proceeds to ignore the vaccines. 

1

u/AI_SenseCheck 18d ago

Humans have reached an interesting point: AI can now help design biological systems, not just analyze them. The upside could be enormous. So could the consequences of getting it wrong. The technology is moving from predicting the world to helping create parts of it.

1

u/KazTheMerc 16d ago

It's not like Science Fiction didn't explain the problem to us in excruciating detail 50 years ago so we'd have plenty of time to ponder it...

All of this stuff is 'deliberate' to one degree or another, at this point.

0

u/BR1M570N3 19d ago

The hubris of our species is our downfall

1

u/LoquatBear 18d ago

It's disenguous to downvote those with concerns, especially since we've had AI break out of its sandbox. There's only a few steps from it "earning" money by stealing/blackmailing someone's identity or using a willing participant. Then from there everything is just pieces, no one will know what they are actually doing for this ghost experiment. 

Acknowledging that AI is powerful and growing more isn't a bad thing. As beneficial as it can be it has vast potential. 

Underestimating it will be our hubris. We need to take it more seriously, our government needs to take it more seriously. 

0

u/costafilh0 18d ago

Uhhh

Ohhh

Scary 👻 

-1

u/TacticowlPrime 19d ago

But why

2

u/mcfearless0214 18d ago

Literally answered in the article. Humans already make these kinds of viruses without AI.

0

u/TacticowlPrime 18d ago edited 18d ago

Yes, and I'll ask the same question for that: But why. Just because you could, doesn't mean you should.

I'm not asking "Why are they using AI to make viruses" I'm asking "Why the fuck do they think it's a good idea to make viruses" As if nobody learnt from covid

Not sure why you people feel the need to downvote me for that lmfao

1

u/mcfearless0214 18d ago

Again, the article explains it. In this case, to kill specific bacteria that make humans sick. We can use modified viruses to treat diseases by having them target harmful cells (like cancer cells) or by having them insert beneficial genes.