Terrorists may use AI to create killer illness and unleash new international pandemic
Experts warn AI is becoming so powerful it could help extremists engineer viruses that spread faster, cause more severe illness and are harder to treat than naturally occurring diseases
AI could be used to craft a deadly superbug(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Terrorists could use AI to create a killer superbug capable of unleashing the next global pandemic, ministers fear.
Experts warn AI is becoming so powerful it could help extremists engineer viruses that spread faster, cause more severe illness and are harder to treat than naturally occurring diseases.
Once the genetic blueprint has been created on a computer, the synthetic DNA could then be ordered from a laboratory and potentially used in a biological attack.
The chilling prospect has sparked fears of another Covid-style catastrophe if such a pathogen was deliberately released. Ministers are now considering tightening controls on the sale of man-made DNA amid growing concerns the technology could fall into the wrong hands.
The alarm comes after bosses of some of the world’s biggest AI companies urged politicians in the US to clamp down on synthetic DNA sales.
They warned the latest AI systems can now outperform PhD-level virologists when designing biological agents, making it far easier for criminals or terrorists to develop dangerous new pathogens.
Similar concerns have also been discussed by national security and technology officials in Britain.
While labs are advised to carry out checks on customers ordering synthetic DNA and verify they have a legitimate reason for buying it, there is currently no legal requirement for those checks to take place.
The Government said it was keeping the threat under close review.
A spokesman said: “The UK was the second country in the world to publish guidance on screening who should be able to buy synthetic DNA, and the DNA sequence they are ordering – but we are not standing still.
“We are monitoring the risks posed by emerging technologies closely, actively weighing at all times what more may be needed.”
Elsewhere, scientists are warning that global warming will inevitably bring invasive mosquitos to Britain – sparking fears of outbreaks of tropical diseases. Experts say Brits “should be concerned” that UK is not prepared for the influx of the bugs and dangerous illnesses they spread.
They say cases of dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya and Zika could well breakout on these shores within the next 20 years. Rising temperatures and milder winters are making parts of Britain more hospitable to disease-carrying insects that were once limited to hotter countries.
This ultimately increases the odds of imported cases and, eventually, occasional local transmission.
