Roundtables: A Conversation With the Creator of AI-Designed Viruses
Listen to the session or watch below Can AI design new life forms? In 2025, Stanford University PhD student Samuel King came up with a preliminary answer when he used a generative AI model to propose genetic blueprints for microscopic viruses. It isn’t yet an example of AI-generated life, but that c

MIT Technology Review The Big Story Artificial intelligence Biotech & health Climate & energy 10 Breakthrough Technologies EmTech Future live event The Kids issue Menu MIT Technology Review MIT Technology Review The Big Story Artificial intelligence Biotech & health Climate & energy 10 Breakthrough Technologies EmTech Future live event The Kids issue Artificial intelligence Roundtables: A Conversation With the Creator of AI-Designed Viruses Watch a subscriber-only conversation with one of MIT Technology Review's Innovators Under 35.
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Can AI design new life forms? In 2025, Stanford University PhD student Samuel King came up with a preliminary answer when he used a generative AI model to propose genetic blueprints for microscopic viruses. It isn’t yet an example of AI-generated life, but that could be next. Watch as senior AI reporter James O'Donnell interviews King about his work, being named one of MIT Technology Review's Innovators Under 35 and new ways of seeing biology.
Speakers: James O'Donnell, AI Reporter, and Samuel King, Bioengineering PhD Candidate, Stanford University/Arc Institute
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