Terrorists Could Use AI To Launch A Deadly Pandemic

FRIDAY PDB – The answer appears to be yes. But regulating AI isn’t the solution. The best way to counter bad artificial intelligence is using good AI. Could terrorists or other bad actors use artificial intelligence to create a deadly pandemic?

Scientists at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology conducted an experiment to find out last year. Researchers asked a group of students, none of whom had specialized training in the life sciences, to use AI tools, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4, to develop a plan for how to start a pandemic.

In just an hour, participants learned how to procure and synthesize deadly pathogens like smallpox in ways that evade existing biosecurity systems.

AI cannot yet manufacture a national security crisis. As Jason Matheny at Rand reiterates, while biological know-how is becoming more widely accessible through AI, it’s not currently at a level that would substitute for a lack of biological research training.

But as biotechnology becomes both more advanced – think of Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold, which uses AI to predict how molecular structures will interact – policymakers are understandably worried that it’ll be increasingly easy to create a bioweapon.

So, they’re starting to take action to regulate the emerging AI industry.

Their efforts are well-intentioned. But it’s critical that policymakers avoid focusing too narrowly on catastrophic risk and inadvertently hamstring the creation of positive AI tools that we need to tackle future crises. 

We should aim to strike a balance. (RELATED: Biden Weaponizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) To Be ‘Woke’)

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense stories from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:

HOMELAND SECURITY

Nine takeaways from investigation into Microsoft’s cybersecurity failures. What you need to know about how a whistleblower repeatedly tried to get the software giant to fix a security flaw that left millions of Microsoft users exposed.

Louisiana National Guard finishes 3rd deployment at Texas border. This, to support Operation Lone Star. OLS has helped reduce illegal border crossings along segments of the Texas border. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott formally requested the  Guard’s assistance in February 2024.

PENTAGON WOKE WATCH

LOWERING STANDARDS – Sailors who fail 2 consecutive fitness tests will no longer face the end of their career. This, according to new Navy policy.

POLITICS

Social media among many barriers to bringing back a draft. Amid a revived national discussion about a possible return to mandatory military service, a new report illustrates how doing so in today’s America would require the Pentagon to navigate unprecedented social and cultural challenges.

IF THEY CAN FIGHT, THEY CAN BE DRAFTED – Should women be drafted? Congress weighs the question yet again. This, more than a decade after the end of rules that kept them from combat roles.

Lawmakers urge Defense Innovation Unit to partner with Israel, Taiwan. They want the Pentagon’s commercial technology hub to help bolster the countries’ defense-industrial bases.

ISRAEL WAR AGAINST TERROR

The fate of the latest cease-fire proposal hinges on Netanyahu and Hamas’ leader in Gaza. Each leader faces significant political and personal pressures that may be influencing their decision-making. And neither seems to be in a rush to make concessions to end the devastating eight-month-long war and free hostages taken by Hamas in its Oct. 7 terror attack.

US POWER OVERSEAS

BIDEN BOONDOGGLE – US-built pier in Gaza unloads aid again after weather setback. This, after being removed for a second time last week because of rough seas.

CHINA THREAT

US approves loitering munitions sale for Taiwan’s ‘porcupine strategy.’ Taiwan will buy hundreds of loitering munitions, as part of a “porcupine strategy” to use such attritable weapons to help defend the country from a potential Chinese military invasion.

US underscores ‘ironclad commitments’ to Philippines after latest clash with China. Biden’s weak Secretary of State reassured his Philippine counterpart of the “United States’ ironclad commitments to the Philippines” two days after a violent clash between Philippine sailors and China’s coast guard in the South China Sea.

US and China hold first informal nuclear talks in five years. This, as Beijing’s representatives telling U.S. counterparts that they would not resort to atomic threats over Taiwan. WE SHOULDN’T MAKE THAT PROMISE.

IRAN THREAT

Iran signals a major boost in nuclear program at key site. Hundreds of new centrifuges would triple Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity at a deeply buried underground nuclear facility. (RELATED: Biden Rewards Iran As Houthi Attacks Cost US Navy A Billion Dollars)

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

White House redirects air defense interceptors to embattled Ukraine. The U.S. moved Ukraine to the front of the line for its sales of air defense interceptors — one of the most critical weapons in Ukraine’s self-defense.

US says Ukraine can hit inside Russia ‘anywhere’ its forces attack across the border. The policy is not limited to the Kharkiv region.

Russia hammers Ukraine’s power grid again and Kyiv’s drones target more enemy oil depots. This, as Kyiv’s forces again targeted Russian oil facilities with cross-border drone strikes, seeking to curb each other’s ability to fight in a war that is now in its third year.

SPACE THREAT

Pentagon is certain that space will be key to future conflicts. The global geopolitical landscape is shifting, and conflict is very much back on the agenda.

House Intel chair warns of ‘Cuban missile crisis in space’ with Russia. House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) warned of a “Cuban missile crisis in space” if Russia launches a nuclear weapon into orbit, a threat that Turner and the U.S. have repeatedly warned about.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

South Korea will consider supplying arms to Ukraine after Russia and North Korea sign strategic pact. This would be a major policy change that was suggested after Russia and North Korea rattled the region and beyond by signing a pact to come to each other’s defense in the event of war.

US MILITARY

Historic USAF court-martial hits snag as too many generals struck from jury duty. The trial of the second Air Force general in history to face court-martial hit a snag as the court ran out of candidates for the eight-seat jury—called a panel in the military—whose members must either be higher-ranked than the defendant or pinned on the same rank before him.

Air Force plan to divest old F-22s has too many holes. A government watchdog said the Air Force’s proposal to divest 32 of its oldest Raptors leaves too many questions unanswered for Congress to make a well-informed decision.

US prepares to open new training site for foreign F-35 pilots. The site, under construction in northwest Arkansas, is preparing to welcome fighter pilots from around the world this fall.

WATCH – How do sailors take down attackers with their bare hands?

A veteran died in a nursing home, alone — hundreds came to say goodbye. Marine Corps veteran Gerry Brooks died alone at a nursing home in Maine, abandoned and all but forgotten. Then the funeral home posted a notice asking if anyone would serve as a pallbearer or simply attend his burial.

END of PDB

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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