AI designs new virus not found in nature

A Stanford-led research team has used generative AI to design a synthetic virus — the first time artificial intelligence has been harnessed to create a organism that has never been seen in nature. Why it matters: What could go wrong? The big picture: It could be the first step toward the nightmare scenario AI experts have already warned about: deadly pathogens that can't be stopped, because they've been created too quickly for our current surveillance systems to stop them. The research could…