Tomorrow’s Tech, Today: Innovation That Moves Us Forward
- AI trained on DNA sequences designed new genomes, creating novel viral sequences in laboratory experiments.
- Reports say experiments yielded 16 novel viruses, with WSJ noting they pose no threat to people.
- Outcomes could include medical breakthroughs or new biological weapons, a dual-use risk highlighted by Axios.
- MIT Technology Review reports AI may soon design more complex life forms beyond simple viruses.
- Scientists and policymakers call for urgent oversight, addressing ethical and security concerns around AI-designed biological agents.
What began as a relatively niche conspiracy theory from the far right was able to—and continues to—influence a wide range of actions by the second Trump administration. In myriad ways, the idea of the censorship-industrial complex, or CIC, explains the logic behind how the administration operates both at home and internationally.
Over the past nine months, MIT Technology Review and Type Investigations have traced how the theory came to influence the country’s most powerful individuals. We found that it took off in 2023, driven by a handful of individuals, with support from a close-knit group of right-wing organizations and media outlets—and an internet activist named Mike Benz at its center.
Read the full story on how the CIC framework has shaped government action.
—Eileen Guo, Gisela Perez de Acha, and Martin Sona
Join us next week for a subscriber-only Roundtables discussion about how the “censorship-industrial complex” idea started, where it’s going, and what it means for the future of American democracy and the internet. Subscribers can register for free.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 AI has designed new viruses from scratch for the first time
Scientists trained AI on DNA sequences to design new genomes. (BBC)
+ The result was 16 novel viruses which pose no threat to people. (WSJ $)
+ They could lead to medical breakthroughs—or biological weapons. (Axios)
+ And more complex AI-designed life forms. (MIT Technology Review)
Read the full article on the original site
