Press
Explore external press coverage featuring Collaborations Pharmaceuticals.
Frankfurter Allgemein
ChatGPT, a bioweapon please!
Can AI really facilitate access to weapons of mass destruction? A soldier in a practice to defend against ABC combat materials. A researcher is appalled because its artificial intelligence designs chemical warfare agents. German politicians also warn that AI could facilitate access to weapons of mass destruction. But how realistic is that?
November 20, 2024
IN THE PIPELINE
Deliberately Optimizing for Harm
This new paper is worrying but not surprising. It describes a recent effort to (mis)use computational drug design software (especially as applied to avoid compounds with predicted toxicity), flipping the signs to have the model generate the most toxic molecules it could come up with.
March 15, 2022
WIRED.IT
Un’intelligenza artificiale ha creato 40mila nuove armi chimiche in sei ore
È quanto emerge da uno studio condotto per esplorare l'uso improprio delle tecnologie nella scoperta di nuovi farmaci. Il computer ha generato nuove molecole più tossiche del più potente agente nervino mai sviluppato
March 18, 2022
THE ECONOMIST
How to tweak drug-design software to create chemical weapons
Scientific papers are normally models of discreet understatement. They are also (or are at least supposed to be) loaded with the information needed for others to replicate their findings.
March 19, 2022
THE VERGE
AI suggested 40,000 new possible chemical weapons in just six hours
It took less than six hours for drug-developing AI to invent 40,000 potentially lethal molecules. Researchers put AI normally used to search for helpful drugs into a kind of “bad actor” mode to show how easily it could be abused at a biological arms control conference.
March 17, 2022
NEW YORK POST
Killer AI invented 40,000 'lethal chemical weapons' in just six hours
Artificial intelligence was used to ‘easily’ invent 40,000 new possible chemical weapons in just six hours.
March 18, 2022
THE REGISTER
AI drug algorithms can be flipped to invent bioweapons
AI algorithms designed to generate therapeutic drugs can be easily repurposed to invent lethal biochemical weapons, a US startup has warned.
March 18, 2022
FINANCIAL TIMES
The dark side of using AI to design drugs
When it comes to using artificial intelligence to design new drugs, the rules are simple: therapeutic activity is rewarded while toxicity is penalised.
March 18, 2022
FINANCIAL TIMES
Will AI turbocharge the hunt for new drugs?
Advocates point to the pandemic as proof of its value in healthcare even as critics dismiss its use in drug discovery as ‘hype’
March 20, 2022
SWISS SRF ECHO DER ZEIT
Tödliches Gift, könnte dank einer Software einfach hergestellt werden
Chemische Waffen sind seit 1997 völkerrechtlich zwar verboten, können aber relativ einfach entwickelt werden. Eine neue Studie zeigt, dass es dazu lediglich eine Software braucht, die in der Pharmaindustrie weit verbreitet ist.
March 21, 2022
THE DAILYMAIL.COM
Artificial Intelligence created 40,000 of new lethal chemical weapon compounds six hours after being given the task by scientists
An artificial intelligence model was able to create 40,000 chemical weapons compounds in just six hours, after being given the task by researchers.
March 21, 2022
AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
AI is the invention of a new method of invention — and its potential is more amazing than you realize
If artificial intelligence is finally ready to supercharge the US economy — a subject I wrote about last week — then it will need to affect worker productivity in a broad swath of business sectors.
March 21, 2022
THE JAPAN TIMES
Artificial intelligence gets scarier and scarier
Reverse engineering of algorithms is the new danger and it’s a real threat
March 22, 2022
TA MEDIA
Diese künstliche Intelligenz findet chemische Kampfstoffe
Ein für die Suche nach möglichst wenig toxischen Medikamenten entwickeltes KI-System wurde für ein Experiment so umprogrammiert, dass es neue Gifte identifiziert. Die Anregung dazu kam vom Labor Spiez.
March 24, 2022
VOX
When the scientific information is dangerous
A new study shows the risks that can come from research into AI and biology.
March 30, 2022
LA TIMES
Op-Ed: AI’s real potential for lethal toxicity
Last week world leaders gathered to discuss the possibility that Vladimir Putin might use chemical weapons in Ukraine.
March 30, 2022
SCIENTIAS
Kunstmatige-intelligentie-bedenkt-binnen-6-uur-40-000-mogelijke-biowapens
Saillant detail: de onderzoekers maakten hierbij gebruik van kunstmatig intelligente software die in de basis ontwikkeld was om de ontdekking van nieuwe medicijnen te bevorderen.
March 30, 2022
CHEMISTRY WORLD
Drug discovery AI that developed new nerve agents raises difficult questions
Scientific research is generally carried out with the best of intentions – whether it’s to improve health, provide cleaner energy, or increase understanding about the world around us.
March 31, 2022
COSMOS
Heaven and Hell
April 1, 2022
SOUTH SEATTLE EMERALD
Weekend Reads: Discovering New Drugs With AI
This weekend’s read is an essay looking at an often overlooked aspect of the tools that pharmaceutical researchers use to discover potential new drugs.
April 2, 2022
LE TEMPS
Des armes chimiques créées en un tour de main
Lors d’un exercice inédit mené au Laboratoire de Spiez, une entreprise pharmaceutique a utilisé des logiciels en accès libre pour fabriquer non pas des médicaments, mais des substances hautement toxiques.
April 5, 2022
BLOOMBERG
Confronting AI’s Potential to Create New Chemical Weapons
Although the immediate danger seems minimal, efforts are needed to safeguard machine-learning models used in drug discovery.
April 7, 2022
FINANCIAL TIMES
The big tech players are muscling into AI
Both Google and Microsoft have invested heavily in deep learning systems.
April 14, 2022
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
AI Drug Discovery Systems Might Be Repurposed to Make Chemical Weapons, Researchers Warn
A demonstration with drug design software shows the ease with which toxic molecules can be generated
April 21, 2022
LE SCIENZE
Dai farmaci alle armi chimiche, la doppia via dell'intelligenza artificiale
Gli algoritmi usati per la ricerca di molecole farmacologiche permettono anche di trovare quelle nocive, potenzialmente utilizzabili come nuove armi.
May 19, 2022
CAEN NEWS
A toxic twist on AI for drug design
Chemistry-focused machine learning tools can be misused to design potential chemical weapons
May 10, 2022
WIRED
Widely Available AI Could Have Deadly Consequences
US researchers’ “Dr. Evil project” proves drug discovery AI could be used to create biochemical weapons.
May 17, 2022
DEUTSCHEN APOTHEKER ZEITUNG
40.000 NEUE GIFTSTOFFE Die KI und das Gift – ein Weckruf für die Forschergemeinde
40.000 potenzielle chemische Kampfstoffe, tödlicher als VX, berechnete innerhalb von nur sechs Stunden eine auf Maschinenlernen basierende Pharma-Software, die eigentlich neue Moleküle für Therapieanwendungen finden soll.
May 24, 2022
FORBES
AI Ethics And Legal AI Experts Greatly Alarmed About Dual-Use AI Which Empowers So-Called Doctor Evil Projects, Including Possibly For AI Self-Driving Cars
Sometimes evil can readily emerge even in the midst of ardently professed good.
June 1, 2022
AIR & SPACE FORCES MAGAZINE
Bioweapons Designed by AI: a ‘Very Near-Term Concern,’ Schmidt Says
Artificial intelligence could bring about “biological conflict,” said former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, who co-chaired the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.
September 12, 2022
THE OBSERVER/ GUARDIAN
Gene-edited sheep offer hope for treatment of lethal childhood disease
Roslin Institute engineered a flock to help research into the genetics of Batten disease
October 9, 2022
THE OBSERVER/ GUARDIAN
Well, I never: AI is very proficient at designing nerve agents
Researchers for a pharmaceutical company stumbled upon a nightmarish realisation, proving there’s nothing intrinsically good about machine learning
February 11, 2023
THE DAILY MAIL
Artificial intelligence could be misused to design biological weapons, warn scientists after their AI came up with 40,000 potentially toxic drugs in just six hours
Artificial intelligence could be misused to design highly toxic chemical and biological weapons, warn scientists.
February 12, 2023
DER SPIEGEL
KI kann menschliche Verantwortung nicht ersetzen? – Doch!
Der Deutsche Ethikrat romantisiert in seiner Stellungnahme zur künstlichen Intelligenz den Menschen.
March 22, 2023
SWR2 WISSEN
Chemische Kampfstoffe – Von Chlorgas bis Nowitschok
Chemiewaffen sind international verboten, werden aber eingesetzt – vom syrischen Assad-Regime etwa oder dem Kreml.
April 16, 2023
VOX
Can a 50-year-old treaty still keep the world safe from the changing threat of bioweapons?
How geopolitics and technological advances are making this a riskier world for bioweapons.
April 28, 2023
BBC
Los científicos que se espantaron con su propio descubrimiento
En 2020, Sean Ekins, el director ejecutivo de Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, una empresa con sede en Raleigh, Carolina del Norte, EE.UU., recibió una invitación para participar en la Conferencia de Convergencia de Spiez.
April 29, 2023
THE TELEGRAPH
Could AI chatbots be used to develop a bioweapon? You’d be surprised
Research has shown that common AI chatbots could allow rogue actors to bypass hurdles when it comes to researching bioweapon development
July 6, 2023
THE NEW YORK POST
World powers in rush to get killer robots on battlefield in AI arms race, as concerns grow they can turn on humans
A new kind of cold war is here.
July 10, 2023
THE GUARDIAN
Unknown: Killer Robots review – the future of AI will fill you with unholy terror
From headless robodogs to drone pilots who can outclass any human, watching the mesmerising military tech on show here is to watch a terrible beauty being born – one that could annihilate us all
July 10, 2023
THE TELEGRAPH
Are Killer Robots the future of warfare? It sure looks like it
AI's pivotal role in battle is not just chilling but inevitable – Netflix's documentary barely scratches the surface of the threat
July 10, 2023/p>
WRAL TECHWIRE
Netflix documentary to feature Raleigh Pharma company on AI risks
The small team at Raleigh-based startup, Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, spends the bulk of its time looking for safe and effective molecules that can be developed into drugs to treat rare and infectious diseases.
July 12, 2023
RALEIGH MAGAZINE
Revenge of the nerds?
New Netflix docu about the dangers of AI feats Raleigh company
July 10, 2023
DAILY MAIL
'It's the stuff of nightmares': Fans left unable to sleep after watching 'terrifying' killer robots documentary on Netflix
Fans and casual viewers alike are stumbling upon 'Unknown: Killer Robots' the chilling latest installment of Netflix's new documentary series 'Unknown' — and discovering that they can't unknow what they've just learned.
July 12, 2023
BBC
The Blue Flash: How a careless slip led to a fatal accident in the Manhattan Project
One day in Oppenheimer's Manhattan Project, a brief, casual moment of carelessness killed one scientist and severely injured another.
July 19, 2023
TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL
The rise of AI in healthcare
How artificial intelligence is changing the Greater Triangle’s health care landscape, while presenting new sets of challenges.
September 9, 2023
JERUSALEM POST
Did Benjamin Netanyahu turn AI into a nuclear weapon? - analysis
Netanyahu's central message was clear: Like with any weapon, there is a need to handle the future development of artificial intelligence with due caution.
September 23, 2023
Reports
NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Engaging Scientists to Prevent Harmful Exploitation of Advanced Data Analytics and Biological Data
Artificial intelligence (AI), facial recognition, and other advanced computational and statistical techniques are accelerating advancements in the life sciences and many other fields.
2023
CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE
Artificial Intelligence in the Biological Sciences: Uses, Safety, Security, and Oversight
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a term generally thought of as computerized systems that work and react in ways commonly thought to require intelligence. AI technologies, methodologies, and applications can be used throughout the biological sciences and biology R&D, including in engineering biology
November 22, 2023
Television
CNN
How It Really Happened
May 5, 2024
NETFLIX
Unknown: Killer Robots
What happens when a machine makes life-or-death decisions? This documentary explores the dangers of artificial intelligence in military application.
July 10, 2023
CBS 17
Concern over risk of killer robots as Artificial Intelligence grows
Coverage of our work and the documentary
July 18, 2023
CBS 17
Raleigh company uses AI to search for new drugs to treat rare diseases
A Raleigh company is getting a lot of attention right now for discovering that Artificial Intelligence has the potential to design chemical weapons.
July 20, 2023
CBS 17
Mit KI zur Biowaffe
Es ist eine Horror-Vorstellung: Bio-Waffen, die mithilfe Künstlicher Intelligenz relativ einfach entwickelt werden können. Viele warnen vor den neuen Risiken.
January 11, 2023
Podcasts
FUTURE OF LIFE INSTITUTE
On the Dangeres of AI drug discovery (part 2)
Interview with Emilia Javorsky
January 13, 2023
FUTURE OF LIFE INSTITUTE
On the Dangeres of AI drug discovery (part 1)
Interview with Emilia Javorsky
January 5, 2023
WISSEN WEEKLY
Künstliche Intelligenz: Wann wird’s gefährlich?
Artificial intelligence: when does it become dangerous?
October 2, 2022
RADIOLAB
40,000 recipes for Murder
November 29, 2023
THE LAWFARE PODCAST
Sean Ekins and Filippa Lentzos on a Teachable Moment for Dual-Use
August 26, 2022