Philip Bobbitt Warns AI Increases Mass-Casualty Attack Risks

Philip Bobbitt, a Columbia University law professor and former federal government official, warns that artificial intelligence creates a high risk of predictable mass-casualty attacks on the United States. He identifies two primary threats: AI-designed cyberattacks targeting critical financial and health care infrastructure, and the use of AI by individuals or small groups to design and deploy contagious biological pathogens.

Bobbitt argues that current prevention efforts are failing, a situation he attributes to eroding democratic cohesion and the denigration of expert opinion. He asserts that these factors leave the nation vulnerable to atrocities that AI makes more feasible to execute.

To mitigate these risks, Bobbitt calls on the United States Congress to urgently implement recommendations from the Continuity of Government Commissions. These protocols include the rapid replacement of government members and the protection of presidential succession to ensure the federal government remains functional during a catastrophe.