科学家呼吁安全使用人工智能设计的蛋白质

Could proteins designed by artificial intelligence （AI） ever be used as bioweapons？ To remove this possibility as well as the probable burden on government regulation， researchers launched an initiative calling for the safe and ethical use of protein design.

“The potential benefits of protein design far exceed the dangers at this point，” says David Baker， a computational biophysicist at the University of Washington， who is part of the voluntary initiative. Dozens of other scientists applying AI to biological design have signed the initiative’s list of commitments.

The initiative follows reports from US Congress， think tanks and other organizations exploring the possibility that AI tools ranging from protein-structure prediction networks such as AlphaFold to large language models such as the one that powers ChatGPT could make it easier to develop biological weapons， including new toxins（毒素） or highly transmissible viruses.

Researchers， including Baker and his colleagues， have been trying to design and make new proteins for decades. Thanks to advances in AI in recent years， their endeavors that once took years or were impossible such as designing a protein that binds to a specified molecule can now be achieved in minutes. Most of the AI tools that scientists have developed to enable this are freely available， leading to the potential for malevolent（恶意的） use of designed proteins.

The initiative that Baker and dozens of other scientists from other countries are rolling out calls on the biodesign community to police itself， including regularly reviewing the capabilities of AI tools and monitoring research practices. Baker would like to see his field establish an expert committee to review software before it is made widely available and to recommend ‘guardrails’ if necessary.

The initiative also calls for improved screening of DNA synthesis， a key step in translating AI-designed proteins into actual molecules. Currently， many companies providing this service are signed up to an industry group， the International Gene Synthesis Consortium （IGSC）， that requires them to screen orders to identify harmful molecules.

（材料来自Nature网站，有删改）

1. How did scientists feel about AI-designed proteins ？

A. Disappointed. B. Concerned.

C. Confused. D. Confident.

2. The aim of many scientists’ signing the initiative is ______.

A. to remove the possibility of using AI as bioweapons

B. to secure the reasonable use of AI-designed proteins

C. to stop designed proteins from becoming transmissible viruses

D. to protect people from being badly influenced by proteins

3. Which of the following usage of “police” in Paragraph 5 is correct？

A. Police suspect a local gang.

B. Dozens of police tried to end the violence.

C. The border police are actually UN officials.

D. The profession is policed by a regulatory body.

4. What can we learn from Baker？

A. He is the early one to launch the initiative for protein use.

B. He had succeeded designing new proteins without AI.

C. He has been contributing to the research of designed proteins.

D. He is positive about the market of designed proteins in the future.

1. B。解析：观点态度题。材料第一段提到“人工智能设计的蛋白质会被用作生物武器吗？为了消除这种可能性及可能给政府监管带来的负担，研究人员发起了一项倡议，呼吁安全、合乎道德地使用这种蛋白质”，由此可知，科学家们担心人工智能设计的蛋白质会被不合理使用。B选项“担忧的”与材料内容相符，故选B。

2. B。解析：推理判断题。材料第一段的最后一句提到“研究人员发起了一项倡议，呼吁安全、合乎道德地使用这种蛋白质”，第五段的第一句提到“Baker和其他几十位来自其他国家的科学家推出的这项倡议呼吁生物设计界自我监管”，由此可知，科学家们签署这项倡议是为了确保这种由人工智能设计的蛋白质得到合理使用。B选项“确保人工智能设计的蛋白质得到合理使用”与材料相符，故选B。

3. D。解析：词义猜测题。材料第五段的第一句中提到“包括定期审查人工智能工具的能力和监测研究实践”，因此画线词“police”的意思应与“审查”和“监测”相近。D选项“这个行业由一个监管机构来监管”与材料内容相符，故选D。

4. C。解析：推理判断题。材料第四段的第一句提到“包括Baker和他的同事在内的研究人员几十年来一直在尝试设计和制造新的蛋白质”，第五段的最后一句提到“Baker希望看到他的领域建立一个专家委员会，在软件广泛使用之前对其进行审查”，由此推测Baker一直致力于这项技术的研究，C选项“他一直致力于设计蛋白质的研究”与材料内容相符，故选C。