IT WAS reported last week that a new unit called the Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre (VDEC) had been set up at Porton Down laboratories in Wiltshire in a bid to tackle an outbreak of Disease X as well as other unknown future threats.
Run by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), this new unit will hopefully develop vaccines for such deadly diseases as avian influenza, monkeypox and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, along with any other pathogens which may appear.
Their work will support the global 100 Days Mission on vaccines, aiming to create prototype vaccines for all major viral pathogens ahead of new outbreaks.
No doubt the recent outbreak of Covid has refocused minds on the dangers of pandemics and demonstrated how ill-prepared the UK was when the virus hit. Yet the investment in VDEC remains minuscule in comparison to the annual UK defence budget.
Those of us old enough will associate Porton Down more with its work on chemical weapons, a job it did from its opening in 1916 until the UK's chemical and biological weapons programme closed in the 1950s.
Since then, the institution has worked to develop counter-measures to the constantly evolving threat posed by chemical and biological agents.
Deputy director of Porton Down, Dr Bassam Hallis, believes artificial intelligence will help identify new treatments earlier if the UK is hit by another pandemic: it's hoped the new unit will help bring down the timescale for new vaccines from 10 years to 100 days.
While such an ambition is laudable, every sword has two sides and, in relation to chemical weapons, the dangers posed by AI become clearer by the day.
One such example was when US scientists using AI to discover new molecules to treat disease were asked to research what would happen if they used the same technology to create toxic molecules instead.
This wasn't an onerous task as it only involved them pressing a button on a computer, switching the programme from 0 to 1, then leaving it to work overnight.
On arriving the next morning, they were horrified to discover the AI had created over 40,000 toxins, some the most deadly known to man. What would have once taken chemists in Porton Down decades to create had been achieved in a matter of hours with no human input required.
When you next ponder the dangers of AI this should be your starting point, as the technology involved is both cheap, openly available and comparatively simple to use.
If the world does end, there's every chance it won't be due to global warming or a nuclear war, but some clumsy technician in a laboratory waving a beaker and boasting: "Look, it's the most toxic virus ever – damn, it slipped..."
PSNI data breach and the chief constable
MOVING from the negative to a positive utilisation of AI, I'd suggest it's installed immediately within the higher ranks of the PSNI as there appears to be a glaring intelligence deficit amongst their number.
As the fallout from the recent online leak of sensitive information continues to impact both emotionally and financially on rank-and-file officers, I'm stunned that chief constable Simon Byrne believes he can remain in position.
Having overseen one of the most embarrassing mishaps in PSNI history, he appears to want praise for remaining in post to sort it out. It's a bit like catching a neighbour fly-tipping into your garden who then expects a slap on the back when you make them clean it up.
If Mr Byrne genuinely wanted to contribute to the future of the PSNI then he should have remained on his summer holiday – permanently.
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- Tom Kelly: The PSNI is failing. Do we need Patten Mark II?
Not that his refusal to do the honourable thing is unusual, for when was the last time you heard of a leader – be they in politics, business or the military – falling upon their sword after having made an unforgivable mistake?
I remember a saying from my days working in the BBC which stated that when a senior producer made a mistake, you could be sure a junior editor was heading for the sack. Personal accountability seems to be falling out of fashion these days, with bosses now operating within a golden bubble where failure is not being sacked, but instead moved horizontally to another high-paying position.
If you doubt this, look at the litany of failed NI politicians who, having been unceremoniously dumped by the electorate, mysteriously slide into equivalently high-paid jobs in the private sector or even into the House of Lords.
Now, isn't that a convenient coincidence...?
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