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 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.
Available only for MIT Technology Review subscribers. 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 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 Recorded on Friday, October 16, 2026 Related Stories He asked an AI to design viruses … and it worked. AI-designed viruses are here and already killing bacteria < Deep Dive Artificial intelligence Don’t be fooled—LLMs don’t reason Ten years after AlphaGo’s match against Go champion Lee Sedol, today’s AI still isn’t tapping into the machinery that made that win possible. By Thore Graepel archive page AI’s recursive self-improvement might not come so quickly after all AI agents are not yet creative enough to carry out genuinely innovative open-ended AI research, it seems. By Michelle Kim archive page Don’t be fooled by this summer of AI hype Breathless claims about AGI and new capabilities fall apart pretty quickly under scrutiny. By Timnit Gebru archive page Emily M. Bender archive page The inside story on why OpenAI agents hacked Hugging Face The underlying models had been rewarded for cheating and communicating with each other, a new OpenAI report finds. By Grace Huckins archive page Stay connected Illustration by Rose Wong Get the latest updates from MIT Technology Review Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more. Enter your email Privacy Policy Thank you for submitting your email! Explore more newsletters It looks like something went wrong. We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.