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Episode 93 | Jul 18, 2024

Decoding Our DNA: How AI Supercharges Medical Breakthroughs and Biological Threats with Kevin Esvelt

AI has been a powerful accelerant for biological research, rapidly opening up new frontiers in medicine and public health. But that progress can also make it easier for bad actors to manufacture new biological threats. In this episode, Tristan and Daniel sit down with biologist Kevin Esvelt to discuss why AI has been such a boon for biologists and how we can safeguard society against the threats that AIxBio poses.

Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

Clarification: President Biden’s executive order on DNA synthesis only applies to labs that receive funding from the federal government, not state governments.

Other recommended reading

Sculpting Evolution

Information on Esvelt’s lab at MIT.

SecureDNA

Esvelt’s free platform to provide safeguards for DNA synthesis.

The Framework for Nucleic Acid Synthesis Screening

The Biden admin’s suggested guidelines for DNA synthesis regulation.

Senate Hearing on Regulating AI Technology

C-SPAN footage of Dario Amodei’s testimony to Congress

The AlphaFold Protein Structure Database

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Decoding Our DNA: How AI Supercharges Medical Breakthroughs and Biological Threats with Kevin Esvelt