Towards Responsible Governance of Biological Design Tools

Recent advancements in generative machine learning have enabled rapid progress in biological design tools (BDTs) such as protein structure and sequence prediction models. The unprecedented predictive accuracy and novel design capabilities of BDTs present new and significant dual-use risks. For example, their predictive accuracy allows biological agents, whether vaccines or pathogens, to be developed more quickly, while the design capabilities could be used to discover drugs or evade DNA screening techniques. Similar to other dual-use AI systems, BDTs present a wicked problem: how can regulators uphold public safety without stifling innovation? We highlight how current regulatory proposals that are primarily tailored toward large language models may be less effective for BDTs, which require fewer computational resources to train and are often developed in an open-source manner. We propose a range of measures to mitigate the risk that BDTs are misused, across the areas of responsible development, risk assessment, transparency, access management, cybersecurity, and investing in resilience. Implementing such measures will require close coordination between developers and governments.

The MAIEI Learning Community Report

This is a labor of the Learning Community cohort that was convened by MAIEI in Winter 2021 to work through and discuss important research issues in the field of AI ethics from a multidisciplinary lens. The community came together supported by facilitators from the MAIEI staff to vigorously debate and explore the nuances of issues like bias, privacy, disinformation, accountability, and more especially examining them from the perspective of industry, civil society, academia, and government. The outcome of these discussions is reflected in the report that you are reading now - an exploration of a variety of issues with deep-dive, critical commentary on what has been done, what worked and what didn't, and what remains to be done so that we can meaningfully move forward in addressing the societal challenges posed by the deployment of AI systems. The chapters titled "Design and Techno-isolationism", "Facebook and the Digital Divide: Perspectives from Myanmar, Mexico, and India", "Future of Work", and "Media & Communications & Ethical Foresight" will hopefully provide with you novel lenses to explore this domain beyond the usual tropes that are covered in the domain of AI ethics.