Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming several fields and biotechnology is no exception. A recent report by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine highlights the potential of AI to improve biosecurity but also warns of the risks of its misuse.
The beneficial potential of AI in biosecurity
AI can be a powerful tool for public health. AI models can analyse large amounts of data to help design medical countermeasures that prevent, treat and mitigate health threats, such as drug discovery. This may accelerate the development of vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases, both naturally occurring and those caused by intentional acts.
The risks of misuse of AI in biotechnology
However, the report also warns that AI-enabled biological tools could be used for harmful purposes. For example, AI could design new biological agents with pandemic potential or modify existing viruses or bacteria to make them more harmful or transmissible.
Current capabilities and limitations of biological AI tools
The report assesses the current capabilities of biological AI tools to amplify the benefits or risks of applying biological tools. Currently, no biological AI tool is capable of designing an entirely new virus, and its capabilities to modify an existing infectious agent with potential for epidemic- or pandemic-scale consequences are limited.
The report examines three types of harmful applications:
Design of biomolecules, such as toxins: Available biological AI tools can design and redesign toxins using different amino acids. However, the scale of potential threats would likely be limited to the local level.
Modification of existing pathogens to make them more virulent: Biological AI tools can shape very specific characteristics that can predict virulence-related traits.
Design of a completely new virus: No currently available biological AI tool has the capability to design a new virus.
Recommendations for biosecurity in the age of AI
The report offers several recommendations to mitigate the risks of AI misuse in biotechnology:
- Continuous monitoring and assessment: Government agencies should continually assess and mitigate the risks of AI-enabled biological tools being misused.
- Strategic data collection: Considering the importance of data for AI model training, the report urges strategic collection of AI-ready biological datasets.
- Investment in data infrastructure: Building new national data resources and other forms of infrastructure to support AI should be a research priority for the United States to maintain competitiveness and scientific innovation.
- Investment in research and development: The Departments of Defence, Health and Human Services, Energy, and other U.S. federal agencies should continue to invest in research, data infrastructure and high-performance computing to drive advances in AI and also control potential risks.
Conclusion
AI offers great potential to improve biosecurity and protect us from biological threats. However, it is essential to be aware of the risks of misuse and take proactive measures to mitigate them. Through continuous monitoring, strategic data collection, infrastructure investment and research and development, we can harness the power of AI to make the world a safer place.
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