Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has joined leaders from rival artificial intelligence firms in calling for new laws to prevent AI from being used to develop biological weapons. The group, which includes Dario Amodei of Anthropic, Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind, and Mustafa Suleyman of Microsoft AI, signed a public letter supporting mandatory screening of customers and orders by companies selling synthetic DNA.
The signatories argue that such screening would help prevent bad actors from misusing genetic material to create harmful bioweapons. The letter highlights that while the issue is not new, the rapid pace of AI progress poses a growing threat. It notes that AI systems now outperform PhD-level virologists on questions about highly technical laboratory procedures in their own domains.
The letter, titled 'In support of mandatory nucleic acid synthesis screening and recordkeeping', describes itself as a rare moment of agreement among stakeholders who are often at odds. Altman and Amodei, for instance, have recently clashed over AI safety issues, including the use of AI for surveillance and autonomous weapons.
Despite their differences, the group has united behind the call for regulation. The letter warns that without such measures, the knowledge barriers that have historically prevented bad actors from obtaining biological weapons could erode significantly.
