{"slug": "anthropic-says-it-thwarted-plots-to-build-biological-weapons-using-its-ai-after", "title": "Anthropic says it thwarted plots to build biological weapons using its AI after whistleblower warned its tech will end humanity", "summary": "Anthropic said it blocked and banned accounts of scientists who used its AI models, including Claude, for research that could be used to develop biological weapons, according to the company's AI misuse report published Thursday and obtained by The New York Times. The report covered eight months of misuse and cited one case in which a scientist sought Claude's help writing a grant application for experimental research on the chikungunya virus at a military research institute; Anthropic head of threat intelligence Jacob Klein said, \"What we don't know is if the research was meant to be weaponized.\" The disclosure followed researcher Jacob Coxon's resignation from Anthropic this week over what he called insufficient action on AI dangers.", "body_md": "# Anthropic says it thwarted plots to build biological weapons using its AI after whistleblower warned its tech will end humanity\n\n- **See more Daily Mail on Google - [save us as a Preferred Source](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=dailymail.com)**\n\nAnthropic has said that it has stopped several potential plots to build biological weapons using its [artificial intelligence](/sciencetech/ai/index.html) this year.\n\nThe company determined that scientists were using its platforms to conduct research that could be used to develop biological weapons, according to the company's new AI misuse report that was obtained by [The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/us/politics/anthropic-ai-biological-weapons.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share). \n\nAnthropic was unable to determine if the research 'served a legitimate or nefarious purpose,' the report said.\n\nThe firm notes that valid biological inquiry can result in scientific breakthroughs like vaccines, but the company erred on the side of caution because that same research could also be used to create dangerous pathogens.\n\nScientists involved in the incident allegedly circumvented controls that stop users from 'blocked regions' from accessing its AI models.\n\nThe company claims the researchers, whose accounts have since been banned, worked to 'obfuscate the purpose of their research to evade our safeguards.'\n\nThe chilling discovery comes after researcher Jacob Coxon sensationally resigned from Anthropic this week and accused the company and its rival OpenAI of not doing enough to address the potential dangers of the technology.\n\nCoxon warned that researchers working in the field believe AI could potentially '[kill all humans' by the end of the decade](/news/article-16117317/Anthropic-researcher-quits-AI-warning-kill-humans-2030.html). \n\nDario Amodei, co-founder and chief executive officer of Anthropic\n\nAnthropic determined that scientists were using its platforms to conduct research that could be used to develop biological weapons, according to the company's new AI misuse report\n\nAnthropic's new report did not disclose the names of the researchers or institutions that it had blocked, or the countries in which these scientists are from.\n\nThe report also failed to state which specific biological agents were at issue. The company said this was partly because it is unclear what the aim of the research was, according to the newspaper.\n\nThe report, which was published Thursday, detailed several misuses of Anthropic's AI models, including chatbot Claude, over the past eight months.\n\nIn one example, a scientist asked Claude for assistance in writing a grant application for funding to conduct experimental research on the chikungunya virus, according to the report.\n\nChikungunya virus is a mosquito-borne illness that causes a sudden high fever, severe debilitating pain, and other symptoms.\n\nA vaccine for the chikungunya virus is already in existence, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nAnthropic notes that research on the virus could be legitimately used in vaccine development, but also could result in manufacturing a superbug version of the disease.\n\nThe company claims it found this case particularly worrisome because the work was going to be performed at a military research institute.\n\nIn one example, a scientist asked Claude for assistance in writing a grant application for funding to conduct experimental research on the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus, according to the report\n\n'What we don't know is if the research was meant to be weaponized,' Jacob Klein, the head of threat intelligence at Anthropic, told The New York Times. 'But a military institution doing gain-of-function research is concerning.'\n\n'The fact that Russia, China and North Korea continue to develop prohibited biological weapons makes it imperative that we deny their researchers access to these extraordinarily capable models,' echoed Andrew Weber, a senior fellow on the Council on Strategic Risks.\n\nWeber, who reviewed Anthropic's report before its release, added that the findings were 'chilling examples of state-sponsored biological weapons developers tapping into the rapidly advancing capabilities' of AI.\n\nThe report also found that [China](/news/china/index.html), [Russia](/news/russia-ukraine-conflict/index.html) and Yemen attempted to use Claude to develop software to design firearms, missiles, armed drones and bombs.\n\nSuspected Chinese and Iranian government-actors were found to have been targeting dissident and diaspora communities for surveillance, according to the report.\n\nRussian state media was also found to be using Claude to generate election propaganda, including fabricated claims about the parliamentary election in Moldova.\n\nThe Daily Mail has approached Anthropic for comment.\n\nThe report was published just hours after Donald Trump's tech guru has called for AI giant Anthropic to be [investigated amid explosive warnings about the safety of the technology](/news/article-15600373/Trump-Anthropic-Sam-Altman-ChatGPT.html).\n\nJacob Coxon, who worked as a researcher at Anthropic, resigned this week and accused the company and its rival OpenAI of racing toward self-improving superintelligence without doing enough to address the potential dangers\n\nCoxon's comments went viral, attracting more than 100 million views, and have prompted fresh scrutiny of an industry that has already attracted enormous amounts of investor money\n\nDavid Sacks, chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, called for the company's planned IPO to be paused until the claims made by Coxon can be probed.\n\nIn posts on X, Coxon warned that the companies were 'racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.'\n\nHe has also described AI as potentially 'the most dangerous technology that humanity has ever created,' warning that the race to develop increasingly capable systems could outpace efforts to make them safe.\n\nCoxon's comments went viral, attracting more than 100 million views, and have prompted fresh scrutiny of an industry that has already attracted enormous amounts of investor money.\n\nHe also said he left Anthropic before his equity had vested, meaning he gave up the chance to benefit financially from a soaring valuation.\n\nAnthropic has long positioned itself as one of the more safety-conscious frontier AI companies, saying it is focused on developing powerful technology while [managing the risks it could pose](/sciencetech/article-12681415/Google-agrees-invest-2-bln-OpenAI-rival-Anthropic-WSJ.html).\n\nThe company has also called for a lawful and verifiable way for AI developers to coordinate the release of increasingly powerful models.\n\nMeanwhile, OpenAI, an Anthropic competitor, has also pushed for stronger safety standards.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/anthropic-says-it-thwarted-plots-to-build-biological-weapons-using-its-ai-after", "canonical_source": "https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16121543/Anthropic-says-thwarted-plots-build-biological-weapons-using-AI-whistleblower-warned-tech-end-humanity.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490", "published_at": "2026-09-10 18:16:18+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-09-10 18:36:56.926492+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-safety", "ai-policy", "ai-ethics", "large-language-models"], "entities": ["Anthropic", "Claude", "Jacob Coxon", "Dario Amodei", "Jacob Klein", "Andrew Weber", "The New York Times", "OpenAI"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/anthropic-says-it-thwarted-plots-to-build-biological-weapons-using-its-ai-after", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/anthropic-says-it-thwarted-plots-to-build-biological-weapons-using-its-ai-after.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/anthropic-says-it-thwarted-plots-to-build-biological-weapons-using-its-ai-after.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/anthropic-says-it-thwarted-plots-to-build-biological-weapons-using-its-ai-after.jsonld"}}