AI-created viruses could help beat antibiotic resistance, study finds

Researchers from Stanford University and the Arc Institute say AI has created 16 entirely new viruses that could, one day, help combat antibiotic-resistant infections. The teams trained an AI model called Evo, similar to ChatGPT, on genetic data from millions of living organisms. They then asked it to design thousands of viral genomes aimed at infecting E. coli. About 300 of the designs were built and tested in the lab, with 16 proving viable as viruses. The candidates are bacteriophages that target bacteria. The study, published Thursday in Science, also sparked biosecurity debate, with Johns Hopkins warning AI’s abilities are outpacing governance.