Tech giants are finally starting to worry about the double-edged sword of AI + biotechnology. Regulation is better than damage control afterward, but who can this gate stop?

Sam Altman of OpenAI, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, Demis Hassabis, head of Google DeepMind, and others jointly wrote to the U.S. Congress, calling for mandatory screening of orders and customer identities by gene synthesis service providers. The letter was initiated by organizations such as the Center for Progress and others, with senior officials from Microsoft and Meta also participating. The signatories warned that AI could lower barriers for malicious actors in scientific advancement, aiding in the design of new pathogens and bypassing biosafety screening. Despite the White House's executive order indicating increased regulation, legislative action by Congress is still needed to establish firm thresholds.