OpenAI and Anthropic Sign Letter to Prevent AI-Developed Biological Weapons
Key takeaways
- Scientist Arthur Kornberg was the first to successfully synthesize DNA in the 1950s.
- In 2017, Canadian researchers raised alarm when they used $100,000 worth of mail-order DNA to reconstitute the extinct horsepox virus.
- While bioterror attacks have been rare, they have the potential to cause mass casualties, public panic, and economic loss.
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
Photo-Illustration: Skye Battles; Getty Images Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story 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.
Google Deep Mind’s Demis Hassabis, Open AI’s Sam Altman, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, and Microsoft AI’s Mustafa Suleyman are among the signatories on a public letter calling for laws requiring companies that sell synthetic DNA and RNA to screen customers and orders to prevent the misuse of genetic material.
Organized by the nonpartisan Institute for Progress and the right-leaning Foundation for American Innovation, the letter acknowledges that given the pace of AI development, “there is a real possibility that the knowledge barriers which have historically prevented bad actors from obtaining biological weapons will meaningfully erode.”