Lancet Commission ranks malicious AI use as extinction-level health threat

The Lancet Commission on 21st Century Global Threats to Health identified malicious use of AI, including for bioweapons, alongside nuclear conflict as threats with potential to cause human extinction by 2100. The assessment places these risks at the top of a pyramid of catastrophic health threats and estimates that reducing malicious AI risk could avert approximately 10.4 billion disability-adjusted life years. The findings elevate AI safety from technical discourse into formal global health risk frameworks used by policymakers and institutions.