OpenAI and Anthropic sign letter to prevent AI-developed biological weapons

The CEOs of several major artificial intelligence companies are urging members of Congress to adopt new laws that would make it harder for bad actors to develop biological weapons using their technology. Signatories include Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Anthropic's Dario Amodei, and Microsoft AI's Mustafa Suleyman. The letter organized by the Institute for Progress and the Foundation for American Innovation calls for laws requiring companies that sell synthetic DNA and RNA to screen customers and orders to prevent the misuse of genetic material. The letter acknowledges that the pace of AI development creates a real possibility that the knowledge barriers which have historically prevented bad actors from obtaining biological weapons will meaningfully erode. Scientist Arthur Kornberg was the first to successfully synthesize DNA in the 1950s. The process is now automated with dozens of companies around the world using commercial synthesizers to print and sell custom genetic sequences for scientific research, drug development, and diagnostics. Many providers sell only to qualified researchers, biotech companies, and educational institutions, but not all of them vet customers or the gene sequences they order. In 2017 Canadian researchers used mail-order DNA to reconstitute the extinct horsepox virus. Critics said the same methodology could be used to construct smallpox. Gene synthesis has only gotten cheaper since then. Combined with advances in AI it is now feasible to design dangerous new toxins and pathogens using large language models, although some biology training would likely still be needed. A major concern is that an AI-designed pathogen could spark a global pandemic. David Relman, a microbiologist and biosecurity expert at Stanford University who signed the letter, says AI tools enable a user to very quickly identify where to turn to order sequences that will not be subject to screening. If prompted appropriately they can also tell you how to change the nature of your order so that even those that are screening may be much less able to detect what it is you are trying to make.