this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2026
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This A.I. Just Created Viruses Not Found in Nature (www.nytimes.com)
submitted 2 days ago by return2ozma@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] fullsquare@awful.systems 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

waaaaay less impressive when you take a look inside

Once Evo got familiar with the genomes of Phi X-174 and its kin, the researchers prompted the model to write new versions of its own. Evo generated 700,000 potential versions; the scientists pursued only the ones that looked as if they had the best odds of succeeding.

They ended up making DNA molecules from 285 of Evo’s suggested sequences. [...] All told, they discovered that 16 of Evo’s genomes produced viable new viruses.

Dr. Crook cautioned that Evo’s viruses were not radically new creations. They tend to be very similar to natural species, relying on the same underlying biology.

look out for breathless boosters "warning" everyone that ai will kill us all and it's definitely not used as a marketing strategy

[–] very_well_lost@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Evo generated 700,000 potential versions

For context, the Phi X174 virus they started with only has ~5000 base pairs in its entire genome.

Makes me wonder if the AI actually did any intentional generic engineering at all here, or just spit out as many random variations as it could and then the researchers cherry-picked out the ones that looked like they could be viable.

[–] fullsquare@awful.systems 3 points 1 day ago

You can't critihype it when you call it phage madlibs from the beginning

[–] isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

Sounds like the LLM is limited by its context window lol