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MIT Technology Review's newsletters explore how AI tools could be misused to create bioweapons, citing a 2022 study where an AI drug-discovery model generated 40,000 potentially toxic molecules in under six hours. The coverage also notes that advances in gene editing and synthetic biology have made biotech more accessible, even as safeguards remain imperfect.
MIT Technology Review released an on-demand Roundtable featuring editors Niall Firth, Will Douglas Heaven and Grace Huckins debating how seriously to take Silicon Valley's warnings about AI causing human extinction. Separately, the outlet published a narrated podcast episode examining Generation Lab, a startup claiming a two-drug combination can rejuvenate blood and reverse aging effects without exchanging bodily fluids, though it refuses to disclose the drugs involved.
OpenAI and Anthropic executives have begun publicly urging caution about AI's risks even as their companies pursue trillion-dollar valuations, prompting MIT Technology Review to examine what a real slowdown would look like and whether the industry's own calls for restraint can be trusted. The publication is also hosting a subscriber roundtable discussing the credibility of AI extinction fears, once considered fringe but now voiced by researchers within top labs.
MIT Technology Review is holding a subscriber-only roundtable on September 15 with editors and an AI reporter to examine claims that artificial intelligence poses an extinction-level threat to humanity. Separately, the outlet profiles geneticist Yuancheng (Ryan) Lu, whose cellular reprogramming technique reversed blindness in mice by repairing optic nerves, and reports that a similar gene therapy has now moved into human clinical trials. Lu was also named to the publication's 2026 list of top young innovators in biotechnology and health.
MIT Technology Review is hosting a live roundtable discussion examining claims from AI lab employees that advanced AI systems could pose an existential threat to humanity. The session, led by executive editor Niall Firth alongside senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven and AI reporter Grace Huckins, will scrutinize the origins and credibility of these fears. It airs Tuesday, September 15 at 16:00 BST.
President Trump said he has no concerns about AI causing human extinction, prioritizing U.S. competitiveness against China instead. His remarks followed public warnings from over a dozen researchers at OpenAI and Anthropic urging a slower pace of AI development due to safety risks.