Several top artificial intelligence CEOs are teaming up with security experts to urge Congress to safeguard against potential biological threats from AI, The Wall Street Journal first reported Wednesday.
Google’s DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei all signed a letter calling for Congress to mandate safeguards when technology companies order synthetic DNA and RNA, a crucial step in developing certain vaccines and biotech innovations, the WSJ reported.
The letter’s objective is to have Congress require companies supplying synthetic nucleic acids to screen customer orders for potentially hazardous sequences and verify that purchasers are legitimate, the WSJ reported. While these biosecurity concerns have existed in the biotechnology industry for several years, key advancements in the AI sector have recently amplified them, according to the outlet.
“AI systems are improving rapidly, and alongside incredible benefits to science and medicine, there is a real possibility that the knowledge barriers which have historically prevented bad actors from obtaining biological weapons will meaningfully erode,” according to the letter.
DeepMind, Anthropic and OpenAI not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
The WSJ’s report comes after President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued an executive order directing federal agencies to “establish or expand” programs and cybersecurity services that “enhance AI-enabled defensive tools.”
“Advanced AI capabilities make our Nation stronger, but also introduce new national security considerations that require coordinated action across executive departments and agencies (agencies), and components,” according to the order.
Some scientists notably told The New York Times in May that AI chatbots told them how to put together deadly pathogens and unleash them in public areas. AI can also design viruses, toxins and other bioweapons, according to Nature.
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