Human receives AI-designed virus for the first time

For the first time, a human has received a virus designed by artificial intelligence, specifically targeting bacteria. Radical Numerics, an AI lab based in San Francisco, made this claim in a recent announcement. The treatment involved a cocktail of bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, which were created using an AI model called Omnii-1.

Phages have gained attention as potential alternatives to antibiotics due to their ability to target specific bacterial strains, sparing beneficial gut bacteria that can be affected by broad-spectrum antibiotics. The company claims that the AI-designed phages eliminated the patient's antibiotic-resistant bacterial isolate in a lab setting.

However, they have not disclosed the results of administering the treatment to the patient under a compassionate-use arrangement, citing privacy concerns. The company also noted that a single patient's experience does not establish the safety or efficacy of the AI phage therapy. The research write-up does mention that Omnii-1 was able to predict which phages could infect Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium known for developing antibiotic resistance and causing infections in patients with burns, wounds, and persistent lung infections due to cystic fibrosis.