The scenario of using artificial intelligence for the creation of biological weapons is one of the most serious and debated risks. Unlike the nuclear threat, which requires huge industrial capacities, biological weapons primarily require information and access to laboratories. AI can dramatically lower this barrier. Key Risk: Lowering the Entry Barrier The main threat is not that AI itself wants to kill someone, but that it can make the creation of biological weapons accessible to a small group of people or even individuals. If before this required years of training and access to complex materials, now AI can take on a significant part of the intellectual work. In 2026, the company Antropic published a report describing five real cases where researchers from different countries used their model for potentially dangerous biological work. In particular, one user planned to use AI to search for mutations in the chikungunya virus that increase its ability to spread and evade immunity. Another researcher was working on adapting highly pathogenic avian influenza to mammals, which could enhance its pandemic potential. When the model refused to respond to dangerous requests, users found bypasses. In one case, requests were redirected to other models with less strict settings, and access to the system was obtained through third-party platforms for circumventing geographical restrictions. How It Could Happen: A Chain of Events Technically, the scenario of a catastrophe could look like this. Design Generation. AI, trained on vast amounts of biological data, designs the genome of a new pathogen. There are already experiments where AI created functional viruses from scratch, proving the possibility of generating viable genetic sequences. Property Optimization. The model can suggest which mutations to introduce to make the virus more contagious or resistant to existing vaccines and medications. Synthesis and Assembly. The design is passed to the laboratory for DNA ... Read more