Here’s a bargain of the most horrifying kind: For less than $100,000, it may now be possible to use artificial intelligence to develop a virus that could kill millions of people. That’s the conclusion of Jason Matheny, the president of the RAND Corporation, a think tank that studies security matters and other issues. “It wouldn’t cost more to create a pathogen that’s capable of killing hundreds of millions of people versus a pathogen that’s only capable of killing hundreds of thousands of people,” Matheny told me. In contrast, he noted, it could cost billions of dollars to produce a new vaccine or antiviral in response.

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Persons: Jason Matheny, ” Matheny Organizations: RAND Corporation