New topics emerge every day that have to do with the threats and dangers of AI. But these are usually related to the same thing: from superintelligences that can turn against their creators, to situations of mass unemployment. There is even no shortage of those who foresee almost science fiction scenarios with killer robots that want to exterminate humanity.
However, a new study published recently goes in another direction. The experts do not go into or out of these other risks, but they put on the table what, for them, is the greatest fear in relation to artificial intelligence. Neither more nor less than biosecurity. And the truth is that specialists give serious arguments to show that they are not just empty warnings.
The biggest danger of AI: biosafety
It seems that Sam Altman grows midgets. As much as the head of ChatGPT spends the day talking about the benefits of this technology, the experts seem more concerned than anything else with everything that has to do with it. Now, they have put the magnifying glass on an issue that is by no means minor: biosafety. What does AI have to do with it?
As the detailed study says Generative AI for Biosciences: Emerging Threats and Roadmap to Biosecuritypublished on arXiv, the topic is complicated. AI has already revolutionized areas such as protein synthesis, drug design or genetic engineering; but also It can be used for dangerous purposes, from the creation of synthetic toxins to viruses and bacteria.
Of course, at this point there is no need to explain to anyone how dangerous a virus can be for the world in general. According to the authors, the possibility of tools like ChatGPT being exploited for harmful purposes is real, and growing every day. Which anyone might think, and there’s no way around it? In theory yes, but theory is one thing and practice is quite another.
The problem, experts say, is that regulatory frameworks and security measures in the field of biosafety are designed to control conventional risks. But heAI threats are anything but conventional. Without going any further, ChatGPT could create biological sequences that are impossible to obtain through traditional and, let’s say, ethical means.
Experts tell us: it’s no joke
One of the most interesting and striking aspects of the study is that it is based on the expert opinion of 130 professionals, all of them related to biology, biosafety and technological safety in general. 76% of them expressed concern about the misuse of AI in biology, while 74% advocated for the urgent development of regulatory frameworks new and adaptive.
Therefore, it is clear that experts are very concerned about the risk of AI generating new biological threats. Now what is needed is for those in charge to also be aware of this. Although that, as a general rule, is usually a more complicated path.
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Tags: Artificial intelligence