OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepMind agree: AI biothreats are real
rivals like altman, amodei, and hassabis urged congress to mandate screening for synthetic dna. without this, ai lowers the barrier to engineering pandemics.
a coalition of ai ceos—including openai's sam altman, anthropic's dario amodei, and google deepmind's demis hassabis—joined scientists to urge congressional action on biosecurity. the open letter calls for mandatory screening of synthetic dna and rna orders to prevent ai-designed pathogens from being manufactured. signatories warn that ai's ability to design dangerous genetic sequences, combined with cheaper biotech tools, creates an urgent risk of pandemic or bioterror attacks. the letter notes voluntary screening exists but argues legal mandates and order tracking are necessary to close the security gap.