BioweaponsNew Bioweapons to Target Specific Groups of People or Individuals
Genomic technologies develop and converge with artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, affective computing, and robotics, means that increasingly refined records of biometrics, emotions, and behaviors will be captured and analyzed. These data will enable game-changing developments which will enable the development of novel bioweapons which target specific groups of people or individuals.
Filippa Lentzos, a mixed methods social scientist at King’s College London, whose research focuses on biological threats, recently published two articles about bioweapons.
“How to Protect the World from Ultra-Targeted Biological Weapons,” published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, points out that genomic technologies develop and converge with artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, affective computing, and robotics, meaning
will significantly impact how we view health and treat disease, but also how we consider our place on the biological continuum. Pandora Report notes that these developments will radically transform the dual-use nature of biological research, medicine, and healthcare, producing the possibility of novel bioweapons which target specific groups of people or individuals. New governance structures that draw on individuals and groups with cross-sectoral expertise are required to manage the fast and broad technological advances already underway.
Her second article, “How Russia Worked to Undermine UN Bioweapons Investigations,” also published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, focuses on Russia’s efforts to thwart investigations into allegations of chemical or biological weapons use.
In fact, Russia has managed to garner aligning votes from China, India, Iran, Syria and Venezuela, who all voted against investigations into the sarin attacks in Ghouta, Syria. In October, Russia introduced a resolution to the General Assembly for updating procedures related to the secretary-general’s investigative mandate.Pandora Report notes that the reason for the proposed resolution was the desire to weaken the ability of the secretary-general to investigative chemical and biological weapons use.
“Russia’s underhanded proposal to give more power to the Security Council over chemical and biological weapons investigations is a signal that Russia, and the nations that supported the Russian resolution, fear the possibility that an independent impartial process might be beyond their control and veto,” Pandora Report writes.
