The Download: AI’s extinction risk and bioweapons threat

AI-enabled bioweapons pose a real threat, as a 2022 study showed an AI molecule generator produced 40,000 potential chemical warfare agents in under six hours. Advances in gene editing and synthetic biology now make biotech tools more accessible, while existing safeguards are not foolproof. Scientists debate the severity of the risk, but the ease of designing killer pathogens highlights the urgent need for robust oversight.