Roundtables: A Conversation With the Creator of AI-Designed Viruses

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technologyreview.com: Friday, October 16, 2026 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. Join senior AI reporter James O Donnell as he interviews King about his work, being named one of MIT Technology Review s Innovators Under 35 and new ways of seeing biology. Going live on October 16th at 18:30 BST / 1:30pm EDT / 10:30am PDT Register now Speakers : James O Donnell , AI Reporter, and Samuel King , Bioengineering PhD Candidate, Stanford University/Arc Institute Related Stories He asked an AI to design viruses … and it worked. AI-designed viruses are here and already killing bacteria