AI can fuel biological weapons. We must harness its power for defense | Annie Jacobsen
Author and national security reporter Annie Jacobsen argues that AI is simultaneously lowering the barrier for creating biological weapons and offering new tools for disease surveillance and public health response. She calls for urgent investment in AI-powered defensive systems to keep pace with the offensive capabilities the technology enables.
Why this matters: The same AI that helps researchers design proteins can help someone with bad intentions design pathogens. That gap between offense and defense is the real problem here. Right now, offense is faster and cheaper. A determined actor does not need a lab full of scientists anymore. The argument for building AI-powered public health defenses is solid, but it comes with its own risks. Surveillance systems built to catch outbreaks early will also collect data about people, movements, and behaviors. Who runs those systems, who audits them, and what happens to that data after the outbreak ends are questions worth asking before the infrastructure gets built.
Who should care: Healthcare professionals · Privacy officers · Compliance · AI governance · Lawyers · Administrators · General readers · Policy
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