Available only for MIT Technology Review subscribers.
Can AI design new life forms? In 2025, Stanford University PhD student Samuel King came up with a preliminary answer when he used a generative AI model to propose genetic blueprints for microscopic viruses. It isn’t yet an example of AI-generated life, but that could be next. Join senior AI reporter James O’Donnell as he interviews King about his work, being named one of MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 and new ways of seeing biology.
Going live on October 16th at 18:30 BST / 1:30pm EDT / 10:30am PDT
Speakers:James O’Donnell, AI Reporter, and Samuel King, Bioengineering PhD Candidate, Stanford University/Arc Institute
- He asked an AI to design viruses … and it worked.
- AI-designed viruses are here and already killing bacteria
<
Deep Dive
Artificial intelligence
Don’t be fooled—LLMs don’t reason
Ten years after AlphaGo’s match against Go champion Lee Sedol, today’s AI still isn’t tapping into the machinery that made that win possible.
AI’s recursive self-improvement might not come so quickly after all
AI agents are not yet creative enough to carry out genuinely innovative open-ended AI research, it seems.
Don’t be fooled by this summer of AI hype
Breathless claims about AGI and new capabilities fall apart pretty quickly under scrutiny.
These startups are chasing the next big thing in LLMs
Meet the new kids nipping at the heels of the AI giants.
Stay connected
Discover special offers, top stories,
upcoming events, and more.
