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Some of the AI industry's biggest competitors have put aside numerous complaints for a common cause. That means making it harder for people to use their technology to develop biological weapons. In an open letter to U.S. lawmakers, technology leaders are pressuring Congress to enact regulations that close alarming biosecurity gaps that could help spark a global pandemic.

AI leaders call for stronger protections against AI-assisted bioweapons.

Competitors in the AI industry rarely agree, but they are all concerned that their technology could be used to develop biological weapons.

Anthropic's Dario Amodei, OpenAI's Sam Altman, and Microsoft's Mustafa Suleyman are urging U.S. lawmakers to ban companies that sell synthetic DNA and RNA (genetic material that can be ordered online and assembled in a lab). It is among the signatories calling for requiring screening of purchases of sequences that can be used to make synthetic DNA and RNA. Dangerous pathogen. The concern is that AI tools will make it easier to design potentially dangerous sequences, order them from manufacturers, and use them in ways that previously required more specialized expertise.

Other signatories include Alexandr Wang, head of AI at Meta, and Demis Hassabis of Google's DeepMind, who won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his AI-based protein prediction research. The letter was also signed by prominent scientists, national security and policy experts, and executives from biotechnology companies, including Twist Bioscience and Ansa Biotechnologies, both major sellers of synthetic genetic material. The letter was reportedly organized by two think tanks, the Foundation for American Innovation and the Institute for Progress.

Scientists have long warned that advances in synthetic biology could make it easier for scientists to manipulate dangerous organisms or even resurrect long-dead pathogens. These actions can cause destruction if misused, mishandled or accidentally released. But that power remains largely in the hands of skilled scientists with access to sophisticated laboratories, equipment, and resources. The concern now is that as biological tools become cheaper and more accessible, and AI models become more powerful, the barriers that prevent their misuse will begin to break down. Experts also warn that AI could help create other threats, such as chemical weapons.

The letter acknowledges that many of the larger suppliers of synthetic DNA and RNA are already screening orders, but this is done on a voluntary rather than mandatory basis. Detailed records of all orders should also be kept to track threats that evaded initial inspection, the letter said.

“Given the speed at which underlying technologies are changing, we believe the need is urgent,” the letter says. “This is a rare moment of often-disagreement among stakeholders. We hope policymakers will take decisive action.”