Why go for the cures right?
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this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2026
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I'm guessing it created it the same way i created a giant eight limbed creature called an Octophant, using a piece of paper and a pencil.
It does not make it exist.
A version of this came out of a DND campaign. They're called octen. Like oxen, but octen. They're like regular oxen, except they have eight legs. The legs have the same fur and color as cattle legs, but then bend up and move like a tarantula's.
According to this non-paywalled article, it created thousands of potential genomes from which the scientists running the experiment chose three hundred promising candidates. They then had bacteria make those and used them for their bacteriophagy experiment. So essentially the AI made the blueprints that the scientists then turned into real stuff.
Let's get real here. Could the bacteria make my Octophant if I clean up the pencil lines?!
Cat girls first dangit! Get in line.
Unfortunately the science hasn't gotten that far yet, but maybe in the future.
Same question to you, why would you do this?
Consider the military and industrial applications of the octophant.
[You Have Been Reported to the Raytheon Ethics Board]
[Congratulations on your Sydney gottlieb ethics in STEM award! The bonus should show up in your account by Monday!]
[All Clear. Proceed]
Same answer: The hubris of man.
Same way we all created the sun, and built a house next to it as children. All without picking up a hammer. Lazy kids.
Yes and no. Going from a design to production takes remarkably little time these days.
So you just scan his picture of an octophant and print it out and it exists? I'd bet you have a bunch of meat and no life. That said, please spend the time and effort into something more productive instead of a octophant was the point
Like curing antibiotic-resistant bacterial diseases? Because that's what the experiment was for.
An octophant is a bacterial disease? Lol
And yes this experiment may be an absolutely stupid thing to do. Could it work out in a extremely well regulated extremely tight secure facility, sure.
Is that happening, not in the U.S., we are cutting all the regulations and health precautions, so if what they create ever kills good bacteria as well during the tests, you should assume it will be spreading to the population.
Why wasn't it contained? Our research grants were cut in half so we skipped on the precautions. Also the regulatory board no longer exists, and our OSHA equivalent hasn't stopped by in over 2 years. I think they may have shut down
Yes and no. Going from a design to production takes remarkably little time these days.
Are there commercial virus-printing services? If so, what keeps some yahoo from sending them the virus-equivalent of a .stl file for smallpox? Can someone just order virulent pathogens printed on command?
Assuming that it will work from the first try
I mean, it's a known process.
There's a YouTube channel called Thought Emporium.
The guy used to do live streams were he designed custom DNA, and then ordered it from a lab that could produce it.
It was a simple commercial transaction.
I used to work in a wet lab. Agree, designing or multiplying DNA is not a problem. The problem is to make it stable and do what you intend it to do. This could be done only by allowing ai to control the whole process with minimal human interaction