AI Executives Urge Congress to Regulate Synthetic DNA Orders

Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, Demis Hassabis and other AI executives have signed a letter urging Congress to increase oversight of synthetic DNA orders and the machines used to produce them. The letter states that AI systems could eventually reduce barriers for actors seeking to develop biological weapons.

The executives wrote that companies building advanced AI are concerned those systems may soon help navigate parts of the bioweapons development process. The letter calls for new rules on how synthetic DNA is ordered and on the equipment required to manufacture it. No specific legislative proposals or timelines were included in the letter.