AI & the Future of Biosecurity (AI & Science Reading Group)
This week: AI & the Future of Biosecurity
Overview: This week, we will explore the "Resilience Gap" identified in the "Biosecurity" section of our shared document. We'll discuss how AI is simultaneously creating new potential threats (e.g., AI-assisted pathogen design) and offering powerful new solutions (e.g., rapid detection and countermeasure development).
Background reading (optional):
The Four Pillars: A Hypothesis for Countering Catastrophic Biological Risk
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/33t5jPzxEcFXLCPjq/the-four-pillars-a-hypothesis-for-countering-catastrophic
Atlas Computing's AI Resilience Gap Map
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QAdfr71KOM0w5ZsU_8OxLG1q1mDUlJQJBK9UB0WTeT8/edit?gid=0#gid=0
Understanding the Theoretical Limits of AI-Enabled Pathogen Design
https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA4087-1.html
Paper 1: Designing lipid nanoparticles using a transformer-based neural network
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-025-01975-4
Paper 2: Pathogen genomic surveillance and the AI revolution
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jvi.01601-24
Paper 3: Strengthening nucleic acid biosecurity screening against generative protein design tools
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu8578
Join us for a weekly reading group at the intersection of AI and the sciences. Each week, we’ll dive into a different area where artificial intelligence is reshaping discovery and research.
We’ll read and discuss papers together, share ideas, and occasionally invite guest speakers experts to give short talks on the frontiers of their field. The aim is to bring together curious minds who want to think critically, learn deeply, and explore how AI is transforming science. Beyond discussion, our goal is to foster progress through cross-field collaboration — and maybe even spark new projects and research directions.
Check our schedule and notes here. Feel free to edit this Notion page and add your contributions to any section!: https://www.notion.so/AI-Science-Reading-Group-261b80918dbb80fbb664f0ab5aeeadc5?source=copy_link
Topics we’ll explore include:
• AI & Genomics
• AI & Mathematics
• AI & Physics
• AI & Drug Discovery
• AI & Material Science
• AI & Climate Science
• AI & Neuroscience
• AI & Cosmology
• (and more as the group evolves!)
Format:
• Short expert talk or group-led introduction (when we have a guest speaker)
• Paper / reading discussion (everyone welcome to suggest!)
• Open conversation + brainstorming collaborations