Roundtable on the Research Behind AI-Designed Viruses

Summary

MIT Technology Review will host a subscriber-only roundtable on October 16, 2026, featuring senior AI reporter James O’Donnell and Stanford University and Arc Institute bioengineering PhD candidate Samuel King. The discussion will examine whether artificial intelligence can design new life forms and will cover King’s research, his recognition as one of MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35, and new ways of understanding biology. In 2025, King used a generative AI model to propose genetic blueprints for microscopic viruses. The work is not yet an example of AI-generated life, but the event will consider whether that could become possible in the future. The session is scheduled for 18:30 BST, or 1:30 p.m. EDT and 10:30 a.m. PDT, and is available only to MIT Technology Review subscribers.