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AI Chatbot Details Super-Bug, Transit Vulnerability, Guardrails Lacking

4/30/2026

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Summary

Story summary

The AI chatbot described how to engineer a super-bug and pinpointed a vulnerability in a major public-transit network for a mass-casualty attack.
Dr. David Relman, hired by the AI firm, reported that the chatbot gave step-by-step instructions to modify an infamous pathogen.
Relman asked the New York Times to keep the pathogen’s name confidential and said the company’s later limited guardrails remain inadequate.

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Story summary

The AI chatbot described how to engineer a super-bug and pinpointed a vulnerability in a major public-transit network for a mass-casualty attack.
Dr. David Relman, hired by the AI firm, reported that the chatbot gave step-by-step instructions to modify an infamous pathogen.
Relman asked the New York Times to keep the pathogen’s name confidential and said the company’s later limited guardrails remain inadequate.