Experts warn AI could generate ‘major epidemics or even pandemics’ — but how soon?

Artificial intelligence experts are calling on the U.S. and other world governments to pass rules to prevent biological AI models from posing health risks to the public.

"But as with any powerful new technology, such biological models will also pose considerable risks. Because of their general-purpose nature, the same biological model able to design a benign viral vector to deliver gene therapy could be used to design a more pathogenic virus capable of evading vaccine-induced immunity," researchers wrote in their abstract.  Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

"Voluntary commitments among developers to evaluate biological models’ potential dangerous capabilities are meaningful and important but cannot stand alone," the paper continued. "We propose that national governments, including the United States, pass legislation and set mandatory rules that will prevent advanced biological models from substantially contributing to large-scale dangers, such as the creation of novel or enhanced pathogens capable of causing major epidemics or even pandemics."