BlueDot Narrated

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. There is a tension in the life sciences between scientific transparency and the need for secrecy to protect national or global security. This report introduces the term 'dual-use research of concern (DURC)' and covers debates from the last two decades over what information should be published. Original text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.ni...

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. Historically, the complexity and unpredictability of biology has meant most scientific progress in this field has come from slow and expensive trial-and-error experiments. This post explores three areas that are turning biology from trial-and-error into a precise engineering discipline and unlocking dramatic progress; deep learning on biolog...

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. This paper proposes two categories of AI models that could have impacts on biosecurity in different ways: large language models (LLMs) and biological design tools (BDTs). Overall, the author suggests that LLMs could lower barriers to biological misuse, while BDTs could expand the capabilities of sophisticated actors to create pandemic pathog...

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses.  This report breaks down the categorisation of LLMs and BDTs into more specific subcategories of AI-enabled biological tools at each stage of the risk chain, from ideation to production of biological weapons. By being more specific about the existing and potential tools at each stage, we can have more precise discussions about the risks. Ori...

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses.  This document introduces the concept of information hazards (often called 'info hazards') and reasoning for why we should be cautious around them. It also provides a list of concrete examples that seem safe to discuss, stressing the importance of maintaining a balance between openness and conscientiousness. It's worth noting...

Audio versions of the blog posts and papers from BlueDot courses.  This table documents the known human-caused pathogen exposure events from 1975-2016, both accidental and deliberate, from peaceful research and bioweapons programmes. Using this data, we can start to build an idea of the base rate of these events to begin to inform how likely we might expect human-caused pandemics to be in the futu...

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses.  This introduction to the course underscores its focus on mitigating the risk of catastrophic pandemics, a specific aspect of the complex and multidisciplinary field of biosecurity. It clarifies various interpretations of 'biosecurity', categorises different sources of pandemic risk, and underscores the need for collaboration acros...

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. Despite sharing a land border with China, Vietnam mounted one of the strongest early responses to COVID-19, reporting only 35 deaths by December 31, 2020, compared to 90,000 in the UK. This article highlights Vietnam's swift and proactive actions to detect and contain infections early in the pandemic. Key strategies included immediate b...

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. In this post, Kyle Fish presents five key goals for biosecurity technologies: to be fast, general, cheap, robust, and scalable. These will be useful heuristics for us to apply as we consider a range of interventions over the next three weeks. Kyle was previously the CTO at Alvea, a vaccine start-up which became the fastest startup to take a...

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. This paper introduces a framing of "differential technology development" – affecting the relative timing of new innovations to reduce a specific risk. For instance, it may be beneficial to delay or halt risk-increasing technologies and preferentially advance risk-reducing defensive, safety, or substitute technologies. As you read,...

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. ESM3 is an AI model which is trained on protein sequence, structure and function data. This allows it to follow prompts to design novel proteins. When reading, consider the ways in which this model might present opportunities and risks for pandemic preparedness. Original text: https://www.evolutionaryscale.ai/blog/esm3-release Author(s): Evo...

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. Original text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7103698/ Author(s): Amesh Adalja and Thomas Inglesby A podcast by BlueDot Impact .

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. Original text: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19dxfYiUnrK4fR5EJW3Nb2zkpgvsEC28y/view?usp=sharing Author(s): Roger Brent, T. Greg McKelvey, Jr., and Jason Matheny A podcast by BlueDot Impact .

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. This resource from 'Our World in Data' estimates the death tolls from the most devastating pandemics in history, with a particular focus on the 19th century onwards. Original text: https://ourworldindata.org/historical-pandemics Author(s): Our World in Data A podcast by BlueDot Impact .

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. "Vital workers must be protected against viral threats so that critical functions of society can continue during a global pandemic. Globally, COVID-19 revealed weaknesses in the PPE enterprise including production and distribution limitations, counterfeit and poor-quality products, and inadequate stockpiles. End users struggled with des...

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. "Cleaner indoor air can increase productivity, improve student outcomes, and prevent pandemics." Original text: https://ifp.org/indoor-air-quality/ Author(s): Juan Cambeiro and Brian Potter A podcast by BlueDot Impact .

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. "During the COVID pandemic, we learned to design vaccines within weeks. Now, the bottleneck is testing that they work. To get even faster, we need innovations in clinical trial design." Original text: https://asteriskmag.com/issues/04/from-warp-speed-to-100-days Author(s): Witold Więcek A podcast by BlueDot Impact .

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. Original text: https://royalsociety.org/-/media/policy/projects/impact-non-pharmaceutical-interventions-on-covid-19-transmission/covid-19-examining-the-effectiveness-of-non-pharmaceutical-interventions-executive-summary.pdf Author(s):   The Royal Society A podcast by BlueDot Impact .

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. Original text: https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-opinion-lessons-learned-from-covid-pandemic-global-comparison/ Author(s): Bloomberg Opinion A podcast by BlueDot Impact .

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. It will probably start with a cluster of unusual symptoms. Some of the people with the disease will know each other, but won’t have been exposed to animals, suggesting the infection can spread between people. Then more cases will start appearing in other areas, maybe even in other countries. The next pandemic could take many forms, but a res...

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. The US State Department report is released each April and provides an assessment of states' adherence to arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament agreements and commitments. We see this as a useful resource giving some evidence of modern BW activity and for you to consider the role of intelligence agencies in assessing BWC compli...

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. This resource provides an overview of the Biological Weapons Convention, a disarmament treaty that bans the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological weapons. Despite 187 states being party to the treaty, there are substantial challenges including a lack of funding and difficulty verifying compliance....

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. By Samuel Hammond Source: https://www.secondbest.ca/p/ai-and-leviathan-part-i A podcast by BlueDot Impact .

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses.  By Vitalik Buterin Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin describes how democratic, defensive and decentralised technologies could distribute AI's power across society rather than concentrating it, offering a middle path between unchecked technical acceleration and authoritarian control. Source: https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2025/01/05/da...

Audio versions of blogs and papers from BlueDot courses. By Akash Wasil et al. This paper uses scenario planning to show how governments could prepare for AI emergencies. The authors examine three plausible disasters: losing control of AI, AI model theft, and bioweapon creation. They then expose gaps in current preparedness systems, and propose specific government reforms including embedding audit...