AI CEOs urge Congress to regulate synthetic DNA sales

Leaders from the world’s most prominent artificial intelligence companies have jointly called on the U.S. Congress to enact legislation regulating the sale of synthetic DNA, warning that rapidly advancing AI technology could lower critical barriers to creating biological weapons. In a rare show of unity, the chief executives of OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and Microsoft AI, alongside other industry leaders and security experts, signed an open letter urging lawmakers to mandate strict screening and customer verification for all synthetic nucleic acid orders.

The letter, released publicly, argues that while the synthesis of genetic material offers tremendous benefits for science and medicine, it also presents a grave security risk. AI systems are now capable of outperforming expert virologists on complex biological questions, the signatories state, meaning the technical knowledge that has historically prevented malicious actors from engineering pathogens is eroding. This acceleration, they warn, creates a pressing need for legal guardrails.

Specifically, the letter proposes that Congress require all companies selling synthetic DNA and RNA, as well as manufacturers of...