DHS details how AI could amplify biological, chemical threats
While access to laboratory facilities is still a hurdle, a new report notes that cloud labs could allow the stealthy development of weapons components.
ALEXANDRA KELLEY | JUNE 24, 2024
WMDS AI & AUTONOMY HOMELAND
Artificial intelligence may help malicious actors develop chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons—but also help defenders head them off, a new Department of Homeland Security report says.
“[K]nown limitations in existing U.S. biological and chemical security regulations and enforcement, when combined with increased use of AI tools, could increase the likelihood of both intentional and unintentional dangerous research outcomes that pose a risk to public health, economic security, or national security,” the agency's Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office says in the report.
Required by President Joe Biden’s October 2023 executive order on AI, the full report was released last week, two months after a related fact sheet.
The proliferation of publicly available AI tools could help malicious actors learn to make and deliver chemical and biological weapons. While access to laboratory facilities is still a hurdle, the report notes that cloud labs could allow the stealthy development of weapons components.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2024/06/dhs-report-details-ais-potential-amplify-biological-chemical-threats/397608/
