- Researchers flipped a ‘bad’ switch on AI model designed to find disease cures
- This was for a conference exploring the negative implications of new technology
- The model looks at the toxicity of different chemicals to check human safety
- They reversed this, had it find the most toxic chemicals and create new compounds, that were surprisingly similar to those in current nerve agents
An artificial intelligence model was able to create 40,000 chemical weapons compounds in just six hours, after being given the task by researchers.
A team of scientists were using AI to look for compounds that could be used to cure disease, and part of this involves filtering out any that could kill a human.
As part of a conference on potentially negative implications of new technology, biotech startup Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, from Raleigh, North Carolina, ‘flipped a switch’ in its AI algorithm, and had it find the most lethal compounds.