Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Technology
Aisha Down, Blake Montgomery and Dan Milmo

Your AI doomsday questions answered: ‘What, if anything, can people like me do about it?’

Headshots of Guardian tech reporters Aisha Down, Blake Montgomery and Dan Milmo overlaid with a red illustration
(Left to right) Guardian tech reporters Aisha Down, Blake Montgomery and Dan Milmo. Illustration: Guardian Design

In realistic terms how would artificial intelligence actually kill me? What is the main proxy threat? Nuclear war, death due to breakdown of society, a virus? I hear all these reports it could kill us but still unsure how that could practically happen? To be honest all sounds too wooly to really take seriously. Pottys99

Aisha: For what it’s worth, it seems unlikely that AI at this point can significantly change the equation around bioweapons or viruses … What has prevented bioweapon attacks through the past decades is not the difficulty of inventing new deadly viruses, but other, more prosaic issues. Consider the failure of Aum Shinrikyo to kill vast numbers of people with botulism and anthrax by spraying these around central Tokyo. There are a lot of logistical challenges, and chemical weapons seem more straightforward. Those exist without AI needing to invent new ones.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.