Safety fears as scientists make first viruses designed by AI

Scientists have created the first viruses designed by artificial intelligence, using AI models (Evo1 and Evo2) to generate entirely new bacteriophage genomes that can infect bacteria like E coli, including antibiotic-resistant strains.

The work, led by a Stanford team and published in Science, marks the first time AI has designed fully functional, whole viral genomes from scratch, with 16 of about 300 synthetic genomes proving viable in the lab.

Although these AI-designed viruses target only bacteria and pose no direct threat to humans, experts from institutions like Johns Hopkins University warn that the capability to compose viral genomes with generative AI raises urgent biosafety, biocontainment, and biosecurity concerns, especially if the technology is applied to human, animal, or plant pathogens in the future.

Researchers and policy experts are calling for stronger governance, including model controls, research oversight, DNA synthesis screening, and robust laboratory safety measures, to prevent misuse for bioweapons or other harmful applications.

The Evo2 AI model has been released openly, which has further intensified debate over open access versus the need for stricter regulation of datasets and tools that could be used to design dangerous biological agents.