We’re developing a blueprint for evaluating the risk that a large language model (LLM) could aid someone in creating a biological threat. In an evaluation involving both biology experts and students, we found that GPT-4 provides at most a mild uplift in biological threat creation accuracy. While this uplift is not large enough to be conclusive, our finding is a starting point for continued research and community deliberation.
  • Soyweiser@awful.systemsEnglish
    1·
    8 months ago

    I guess there both are no real biochemists (or whatever the relevant field is), nor well read cybersecurity people (so they know a little bit more than just which algorithms are secure and why mathematically) working at openai as this is a classic movie plot threat. LLMs could also teach you how to make nuclear weapons, but getting the materials is going to be the problem there.

    (Also I think there is a good reason we don’t really see terrorists use biological weapons, nor chemical weapons (with a few notable, but not that effective exceptions), big bada boom is king)

    • BlueMonday1984@awful.systemsEnglish
      0·
      8 months ago

      Even if one had the means necessary to carry out a bioterrorist attack, simply bombing a place is much easier, faster and safer.

      • Soyweiser@awful.systemsEnglish
        1·
        8 months ago

        Yeah and also, terrorists are not genocidal death cults. ‘terrorists skip getting microbiology phd using chatgpt to create a pandemic that kills untold numbers of beings’ is pure fantasy, it gets worse as it turns out that the number of actual bioterrorists deaths in total ever isn’t even on the level of a 9/11. People seem to forget that terrorist groups have goals, and they just use terror/violence as a method to reach those goals, sure a few of them may die [chatgpt insert a gif of Bin Laden dressed as Lord Farquaad] but the goal of the terrorist organization is to keep existing to reach their political goals.