16 October 2026
Stanford student uses AI model to design viruses in 2025
First reported
The Algorithm ran this on .
- A Stanford PhD student, Samuel King, used a generative AI model in 2025 to propose genetic designs for microscopic viruses.
- Generative AI is software that produces new content, here applied to designing the genetic instructions of living things.
- Viruses are tiny infectious agents that reproduce only by hijacking the cells of other organisms.
Our read
Only 1 of 30 newsletters covered this story, The Algorithm, which first reported it on 2026-10-16. Our archive also lists an earlier entry on the same thread, dated 2026-10-17, that is the Stanford PhD student story itself.
Earlier on this story
Written by Newskeryx from which newsletters covered this story and from our own archive.
How it was covered
The AlgorithmMIT Technology Review
Samuel King's AI-designed virus work and the question of AI creating new life forms, with a roundtable session recording