Health and Me

Rachel V Thomas

Anthropic Says Claude Blocked Bird Flu, Chikungunya Research: How AI Could Enable Biological Misuse

Anthropic Says Claude Blocked Bird Flu, Chikungunya Queries: How AI Could Enable Biological Misuse

In an alarming report, Anthropic, an artificial intelligence safety and research company and developer of the Claude family of large language models, said it blocked multiple accounts that used its AI models in ways that could support the development of biological weapons.

In a report published Thursday, the San Francisco-based AI company described biological misuse as one of the “most serious risks” to increasingly capable AI models. The report covers attempts to misuse Claude between December 2025 and August 2026, including activity involving biology, weapons, cyberattacks, influence operations and surveillance.

It details five cases involving potentially concerning biological research, including <a href="https://www.healthandme.com/health/chikungunya">chikungunya</a> gain-of-function research, avian influenza, orthopoxviruses, venoms and toxins.

“We're publishing our most detailed threat intelligence report to date. It covers how people tried to misuse Claude—for cyberattacks, influence operations, surveillance, biology, and building weapons—and how we found and stopped them,” Anthropic said on X.

Anthropic identified about 35 potentially concerning “research efforts” over 30 days. It could not determine whether users “intended harm” or were conducting legitimate research.

Five cases involved users circumventing safeguards or regional restrictions:

<ul><li>Chikungunya: AI was used in a gain-of-function project after safeguards were bypassed.</li><li>Avian influenza: AI-assisted planning was used for experiments aimed at adapting the virus to mammals.</li><li>Orthopoxvirus: AI was used to generate a grant application on viral immune evasion.</li><li>Venoms: AI was used to optimise venom-related molecules.</li><li>Toxins: AI was used to computationally redesign toxins.</li></ul>Anthropic said increasingly capable AI could raise misuse risks and that newer models have stronger safeguards for dual-use biological research.

<h2>Anthropic Says It Stopped The Operations</h2>

“We disrupted every operation in the report, and used the lessons from them to strengthen our safeguards,” Anthropic said.

The company said it also shared information with authorities and other AI companies where appropriate.

“These cases are not typical: we’re highlighting some of the most sophisticated misuse we’ve seen,” it said.

<h2>Can AI Enable Biological Misuse?</h2>

The report comes as former Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon resigned this week, stating on X that “the people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.”

The 27-year-old AI researcher said it could hack critical infrastructure — or build “extinction-level bioweapons.”

“There’s a lot of ways that the AI could actuate itself in the world,” he said. “If you extrapolate into the future, the level of capabilities of these AIs … they could cause extreme havoc,” Coxon later told CNN.

In July, nearly 1,400 AI company employees signed an open letter urging the US government to regulate the technology and slow its development to ensure its safety.

OpenAI Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki also warned this week that AI capabilities are advancing faster than researchers’ ability to reliably monitor and control them.

Dr Ashish K. Jha, physician, scientist and biosecurity expert, said the Anthropic cases show how AI could lower some barriers to biological research.

“We are sleepwalking into a potentially huge disaster. And it amazes me how little attention it is getting,” Jha said on X.

“Anthropic just published five case studies today of people using Claude in ways that could have helped develop biological weapons. They banned the accounts, traced the networks, and told other AI labs and governments what they found.”

Jha said the barriers that once made biological weapons difficult to develop included “deep expertise, advanced equipment, years of specialized training.” “Those barriers are dissolving. Rapidly,” he said.

Jha also pointed to a case in which Claude blocked a request, after which the operator built a system to route it to a more permissive model.

“In a world of lots of open access models that are getting quite good, this will keep happening,” he said.

Health Conditions A-Z

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Anthropic

Claude

Bird Flu

AI bioweapon

Jacob Coxon

Chikungunya

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In an alarming report, Anthropic, an artificial intelligence safety and research company and developer of the Claude family of large language models, said it blocked multiple accounts that used its AI models in ways that could support the development of biological weapons.In a report published Thursday, the San Francisco-based AI company described biological misuse as one of the “most serious risks” to increasingly capable AI models. The report covers attempts to misuse Claude between December 2025 and August 2026, including activity involving biology, weapons, cyberattacks, influence operations and surveillance.It details five cases involving potentially concerning biological research, including chikungunya gain-of-function research, avian influenza, orthopoxviruses, venoms and toxins.“We're publishing our most detailed threat intelligence report to date. It covers how people tried to misuse Claude—for cyberattacks, influence operations, surveillance, biology, and building weapons—and how we found and stopped them,” Anthropic said on X.What Did Anthropic Find?Anthropic identified about 35 potentially concerning “research efforts” over 30 days. It could not determine whether users “intended harm” or were conducting legitimate research.Five cases involved users circumventing safeguards or regional restrictions:Chikungunya: AI was used in a gain-of-function project after safeguards were bypassed.Avian influenza: AI-assisted planning was used for experiments aimed at adapting the virus to mammals.Orthopoxvirus: AI was used to generate a grant application on viral immune evasion.Venoms: AI was used to optimise venom-related molecules.Toxins: AI was used to computationally redesign toxins.Anthropic said increasingly capable AI could raise misuse risks and that newer models have stronger safeguards for dual-use biological research.Anthropic Says It Stopped The Operations“We disrupted every operation in the report, and used the lessons from them to strengthen our safeguards,” Anthropic said.The company said it also shared information with authorities and other AI companies where appropriate.“These cases are not typical: we’re highlighting some of the most sophisticated misuse we’ve seen,” it said.Can AI Enable Biological Misuse?The report comes as former Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon resigned this week, stating on X that “the people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.”The 27-year-old AI researcher said it could hack critical infrastructure — or build “extinction-level bioweapons.”“There’s a lot of ways that the AI could actuate itself in the world,” he said. “If you extrapolate into the future, the level of capabilities of these AIs … they could cause extreme havoc,” Coxon later told CNN.In July, nearly 1,400 AI company employees signed an open letter urging the US government to regulate the technology and slow its development to ensure its safety.OpenAI Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki also warned this week that AI capabilities are advancing faster than researchers’ ability to reliably monitor and control them.Dr Ashish K. Jha, physician, scientist and biosecurity expert, said the Anthropic cases show how AI could lower some barriers to biological research.“We are sleepwalking into a potentially huge disaster. And it amazes me how little attention it is getting,” Jha said on X.“Anthropic just published five case studies today of people using Claude in ways that could have helped develop biological weapons. They banned the accounts, traced the networks, and told other AI labs and governments what they found.”Jha said the barriers that once made biological weapons difficult to develop included “deep expertise, advanced equipment, years of specialized training.” “Those barriers are dissolving. Rapidly,” he said.Jha also pointed to a case in which Claude blocked a request, after which the operator built a system to route it to a more permissive model.“In a world of lots of open access models that are getting quite good, this will keep happening,” he said.