AI leaders urge US Congress to mandate synthetic DNA screening
Executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and others warn that artificial intelligence is lowering barriers to designing dangerous biological agents, prompting calls for mandatory order screening by genetic material sellers.
Prominent artificial intelligence executives and scientists have signed an open letter to US lawmakers, urging the enactment of mandatory screening rules for synthetic DNA and RNA orders. The signatories, including leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Meta and Google DeepMind, argue that current voluntary measures by genetic material sellers are insufficient to prevent the misuse of AI in designing dangerous biological or chemical agents.
The letter, reportedly organised by the Foundation for American Innovation and the Institute for Progress, calls on Congress to close biosecurity gaps. It specifically requests that companies selling genetic material screen purchases for harmful pathogen sequences and maintain detailed records to track potential threats. The group warns that AI could lower the barrier to entry for creating pathogens, which previously required specialised expertise and expensive laboratory resources.
Signatories include Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Microsoft’s Mustafa Suleyman, Meta’s AI chief Alexandr Wang and Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis. Hassabis is noted as the winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on AI-based protein prediction. The letter was also signed by prominent scientists, national security experts and executives from biotech companies Twist Bioscience and Ansa Biotechnologies.
Scientists have long warned that advances in synthetic biology could facilitate the engineering of dangerous organisms or the resurrection of long-dead pathogens. Historically, the power to engineer such agents has been restricted to skilled scientists with access to sophisticated labs and resources. The concern now is that as biological tools become cheaper and more accessible, and AI models become more capable, the barriers preventing misuse are crumbling.
While many large providers of synthetic DNA and RNA already screen orders, these measures are currently voluntary rather than mandatory. The letter acknowledges that the need for action is urgent due to the pace of technological change, though the specific timeline for legislative action by US Congress remains uncertain. It is unclear how effectively mandatory screening can be implemented without hindering legitimate scientific research and commercial activities.
