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Experts Warn Artificial Intelligence Could Design Deadly Pathogens

Australian Financial Review

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Date Published
29 Jan 2026
Priority Score
4
Australian
Yes
Created
29 Jan 2026, 07:15 pm

Authors (1)

Description

Unfortunately, our systems of biosecurity, governance, and global cooperation are not keeping pace with this hypothetical but emerging biothreat.

Summary

The article explores the potential for artificial intelligence to be used in designing deadly pathogens, signaling a significant biothreat where current biosecurity and governance measures may be insufficient. It highlights the dual-use nature of AI in biotechnology, emphasizing advances in beneficial applications such as new medicines but also the risks posed by its misuse. This examination is crucial in the context of global AI safety, as it underlines the necessity for improved international cooperation to mitigate existential biological risks associated with AI. While primarily relevant to global policy on AI and biosecurity, it does not detail new Australian policies but stresses the global implications of these technological capabilities.

Body

TechnologyAIPrint articleJan 30, 2026 – 5.00amThe convergence of artificial intelligence and biotechnology offers extraordinary promise. Already it is producing new medicines, vaccines, and early breakthroughs in drought-resistant crops and pollution-cleaning microbes.I work in this field because of its enormous potential to improve human life, and I’m optimistic about these advances.Loading...Lotti Tajouri is associate professor of genomics and molecular biology at Bond UniversitySaveLog in or Subscribe to save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? LoginLicense articleFollow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.Find out moreRead MoreAIOpinionBiotechBiosecurityCoronavirus pandemicBiologyFetching latest articles