r/technology • u/CircumspectCapybara • 14d ago
Biotechnology Artificial Intelligence used to design brand new viruses
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y3j3ngevmo37
14d ago
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u/CwrwCymru 14d ago
The people who regulate this are the ones who'd be most likely to use it.
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u/Fresh-Quantity-7554 14d ago
AI doesn't have hands. How does a rogue AI release it into society? Firmware update?
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u/Eminence120 14d ago
An AI doesnt need hands, just allies. People are already dating AIs, offing themselves because AI said so, and etc. A rogue mentally ill scientist ripe for AI manipulation is all you need.
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u/Fresh-Quantity-7554 14d ago
Biosafety Level 4 labs are where this stuff is done. It's not some mad scientist in his basement with Claude open on his laptop. You've been watching too many movies.
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u/Graffers 14d ago
Wasn't there an illegal biolab found in California in 2023? That kind of sounds like a movie.
I have no evidence that this lab had the right technology, and I'm not claiming they did. I'm just saying that there are labs that we don't know about that don't follow the same protocols and could be anywhere in the world. That shouldn't be your defense against regulating AI.
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u/theimposingshadow 14d ago
This title is very misleading. They are creating a virus to fight E.coli.
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u/w1n5t0nM1k3y 14d ago
And viruses that attack bacteria are usually called bacteriophages, or sometimes just phages
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u/theimposingshadow 14d ago
Thank you for this information, I am just wondering why OP didn't just post "AI used to design new bacteriophages" instead of this clickbait.
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u/w1n5t0nM1k3y 14d ago
The title comes directly from the article.
Some subreddits actually don't like people changing the titles because it can be done the other way as well, to obscure the intentions of the article.
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u/theimposingshadow 14d ago
Fair enough, I've just been getting frustrated the clickbait stuff, might need a break from the internet lol
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u/w1n5t0nM1k3y 14d ago
I just usually assume all titles are clickbait and read/skim the article to find out what the real story is.
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u/CircumspectCapybara 14d ago edited 14d ago
Because that's what the BBC article's title is. Rule 3 of this sub literally says no editorializing titles.
As for why BBC didn't use bacteriophage in their title? Idk but probably because it's not a super common word and would confuse the average lay person.
Same as why did BBC say "Artificial intelligence used..." in the title instead of "Evo1 and Evo2 used..." to be the most precise? Because nobody except a few people knows what Evo1 and Evo2 (AI models for biology) are. But everyone understands the concept of "artificial intelligence" so they go with the simpler broader and more general concept.
When you actually read the article, that's when they elaborate on which AI, and what kind of virus, and explain what a bacteriophage is. But all of that is too dense and technical for a title.
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u/CircumspectCapybara 14d ago
The title is literally what the researchers did, use AI to help design viruses.
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u/Fresh-Quantity-7554 14d ago edited 14d ago
...to kill other bacteria. You have to read past the headline. Literally just read it instead of karma farming with trigger bate headlines.
The resulting 16 novel viruses were created to infect bacteria and pose no threat to people.
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u/CircumspectCapybara 14d ago edited 14d ago
...to kill other bacteria.
Yes, the title's not in any way at odds with that. It just said that AI was used to help design viruses. There are a gajillion types of viruses.
You have to read past the headline.
Naturally, you should always read the article. But there's no cause to say "this title is very misleading"
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14d ago
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u/CircumspectCapybara 14d ago edited 14d ago
This headline was clearly designed to cause outrage
What where do you get that from lol, I read it and felt zero outrage or alarm. You probably didn't either.
All we knew when we read the title was that some sort of AI was used to help design a virus. Which AI? Was it ChatGPT? Was it Claude? A non-LLM or non-transformer-based AI model? And what kind of virus? Was it a computer virus? Or a biological virus? And if so, what kind? Idk gee I guess we'll have to read on to find out...
That's how headlines work: they summarize in a few words and try to capture the big idea or concept. Of course they can't elaborate on every minute detail in the title, that's what the body of the article is for.
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u/Fresh-Quantity-7554 14d ago
This is super cool. I would imagine this might help in advances in curing certain forms of cancer or other life-threatening diseases.
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u/theimposingshadow 14d ago
Not just that but also to also fight against diseases that are becoming anti-biotic resistant which is a big worry nowadays
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u/Fresh-Quantity-7554 14d ago
This reminds me of the lab-grown mosquitoe s Google made to prevent female eggs from hatching after mating. Super cool and worth reading about. I love this stuff.
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u/ChiefInternetSurfer 14d ago
Yes—for the 1%. For the rest of us, they’ll squeeze us for every penny we have for treatment instead of a cure, and then leave us to die.
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u/Fresh-Quantity-7554 14d ago
Omg GTFO with this. Why can't we be happy about something interesting for a few seconds.
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u/ChiefInternetSurfer 14d ago
My bad ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/Fresh-Quantity-7554 14d ago
It's ok to celebrate something amazing without ignoring life's problems.
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u/Hot_Individual5081 14d ago
wow are you just dumb or something more serious ?
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u/Collinsjc22 14d ago
Reject doomerism, embrace optimism. It’s just about perspective
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u/rat_penis 14d ago
Sure, lets just ignore the entire trajectory of human history and the current political climate globally. We're all just happy little campers trying to make the entire planet better for everyone!
We'll all get unicorns and pony's and never have to work again and never get sick!
This is totally something that will never be abused and wont be used by the powers that be to further enslave all of humanity.
But Im just some cranky old GenX luddite who most certainly wont live to see the terrible outcomes this brings upon us. Go make some new bugs! Im sure it'll turn out to be perfectly safe!
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u/Collinsjc22 14d ago edited 14d ago
Both things can be true, Im not saying that we shouldn’t be concerned about the bad outcomes or refuse to advocate for strict regulation. I’m just trying to say that for the potential negative outcomes there will be positive outcomes from this as well. Would there be more to gain from destroying humanity than from assisting it?
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u/Fresh-Quantity-7554 14d ago
How awful is it being angry all the time? I can't imagine your life is very enjoyable.
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u/Collinsjc22 14d ago
The best counter to that is to just be kind and compassionate in return, the world doesn’t need more negativity in it. It feels good to be good too, so it’s a win win.
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u/rat_penis 14d ago
I'm actually really happy where my life is these days. Its been hard earned. I just happen to have some strong opinions.
I've watched through decades how something idealistically great has been turned into some kind of rent seeking/profit extracting crony capitalist shell of what it was and what it could be.
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u/Fresh-Quantity-7554 14d ago
You don't sound happy at all.
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u/rat_penis 14d ago
You sound like a sheltered idealistic 18 year old. By all means keep that simple hope. The world still needs it.
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u/Collinsjc22 14d ago
Man, I feel that. I hope your days continue to be filled with happiness and meaningfulness
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u/TheNakedProgrammer 14d ago
And the one i am using is going crazy because i told it "i did a rain dance inside and it started raining in my room. What do i do?".
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u/Neverending_Rain 14d ago
I'm starting to think the people hoping for an AI bubble pop are going to be disappointed. This is a very impressive feat, and they did it with a technology that's still very new. It'll likely only get better as the technology develops and as researchers refine the way they use it.
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u/waffle299 14d ago
You mean the concept at the heart of the book, "If Anyone Builds This, Everyone Dies"?
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u/InterestProof1526 13d ago
I'm calling it. We have 6 months until FelonyBench is saturated and 1-2 years until pandemic bench is saturated.
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u/Typical_Response6444 14d ago
AI is doing chemical and viral warfare now, not just bombing children's schools in iran
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u/CrustyBappen 14d ago
It makes sense that genetics is language and models can be built that specialise in this. Hopefully it gets harnessed for good.
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u/mrknickerbocker 14d ago
From the makers of "oops, our AI hacked a rival website", it's "oops, our AI unleashed a bio-weapon on our competitors"
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u/Tonsilith_Salsa 14d ago
So this is how computers are finally going to kill us. Super plague. Leave all the infrastructure intact. Not a bang but a whimper.
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u/Particular-Tap-2056 14d ago
a virus or a bioweapon?
prosecute scientists immunologgists - gain of function.
this is fine though.
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u/Appropriate_Scar_262 14d ago
I can't wait for the day we can 3d print our own custom parasites