Roundtables: A Conversation With the Creator of AI-Designed Viruses
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Listen to the session or watch below Can AI design new life forms? In 2025, Stanford University PhD student Samuel King came up with a preliminary answer when he used a generative AI model to propose genetic blueprints for microscopic viruses. It isn’t yet an example of AI-generated life, but that c
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Based on the original story on technologyreview.com.
Editor's note
While the prospect of AI designing new life forms is undoubtedly fascinating, it also raises alarming questions about the ethics and potential consequences of such technology falling into the wrong hands. We must tread carefully and not let our curiosity blind us to the very real dangers lurking in the shadows of innovation.
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Panel 1
(a) What the subject of this story actually is and does: Samuel King, a Stanford University PhD student, used generative AI to propose genetic blueprints for microscopic viruses. The irony lies in the ethical and safety concerns of creating life forms with artificial intelligence, especially in a field as delicate as virology. (b) The ONE real irony or absurdity in the news: The irony is that a student used AI to design viruses, which raises serious questions about the potential misuse of such technology and the ethical implications of allowing AI to manipulate life at a microscopic level. (c) The single funniest observation that becomes the highlight: The highlight is the absurdity of a student casually discussing the creation of viruses in a roundtable conversation, with the AI-designed blueprint projected on a screen behind them, as if it were just another software project.
Panel 2
*Setting: A conference room with a large screen and a roundtable. Samuel King, a young man in a casual lab coat, sits at the table. A few other panelists and journalists are present, taking notes.* *Panelist (raising an eyebrow):* *Samuel King (nonchalantly):*
Panelist: So, you're saying you created genetic blueprints for viruses using AI?
Samuel King: Sure, just another day in the lab. What's the big deal?
Panel 3
*Setting: Close-up of the large screen behind Samuel King. A projected image shows complex genetic code and AI-generated diagrams of viruses, with the text at the top.* *Samuel King:*
Setting: AI-Designed Viruses
Samuel King: It's not like we're creating actual viruses. Just blueprints. No need to panic.
Panel 4
*Setting: A wide shot of the conference room. The other panelists exchange glances, clearly uncomfortable, while Samuel King remains oblivious, sipping coffee and looking at his notes.* *Journalist (dryly):* *Samuel King (unsure):* *Panelist (leaning back, shaking head):*
Journalist: And you don't think someone could misuse this... blueprint?
Samuel King: Oh, right. The ethics. Yeah, we're working on that.
Panelist: Good luck with that.
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