In an open letter to US lawmakers, AI and biotech leaders including Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, and Mustafa Suleyman urge mandatory screening of online synthetic DNA and RNA orders to plug a biosecurity gap they say AI could widen—arguing voluntary checks aren’t
For a moment, the biggest names in AI are setting aside their competition and talking like partners in a shared emergency.
They’ve sent an open letter to US lawmakers pushing for tougher safeguards aimed at a specific weak point in modern biosecurity: the online buying of synthetic DNA and RNA. The signatories argue that genetic material that can be ordered and assembled in a lab is an increasingly accessible pathway for the development of dangerous pathogens—especially if AI tools make designing harmful sequences easier.
Anthropic’s Dario Amodei. OpenAI’s Sam Altman. and Microsoft’s Mustafa Suleyman are among the signatories calling on Congress to require companies selling synthetic DNA and RNA to screen purchases for sequences that could be used to make dangerous pathogens. The fear is not abstract. The letter’s premise is that AI could shift tasks once limited to highly specialized expertise—designing potentially dangerous genetic sequences—into steps that are easier to attempt. order. and assemble.
Meta’s AI chief Alexandr Wang and Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis are also listed. Hassabis won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on AI-based protein prediction. The letter is signed not only by industry figures but also by prominent scientists. national security and policy experts. and executives from biotech companies including Twist Bioscience and Ansa Biotechnologies—both described as major sellers of synthetic genetic material.
The push comes with a wider warning that synthetic biology has been moving fast for years. Scientists have long argued that advances in synthetic biology can make it easier for researchers to engineer dangerous organisms or even resurrect long-dead pathogens—outcomes that could cause devastation if misused. mishandled. or released by accident. For much of that time. the power was largely held by skilled scientists with access to sophisticated labs. equipment. and resources.
Now, the letter argues, that balance is changing. As biological tools become cheaper and more accessible and AI models become more capable, the barriers that kept misuse harder are beginning to erode. The letter also warns that AI could help produce other threats like chemical weapons.
The signatories acknowledge that some of the largest providers of synthetic DNA and RNA already screen orders. But they say those checks are voluntary, not mandatory. They want the screening requirement turned into law—alongside another safeguard: detailed records of orders. The letter says purchase records should be kept so activity that slips past initial screening can still be tracked and investigated afterward.
“The pace at which the underlying technology is changing” is the reason the letter says the situation can’t wait. “Given the pace at which the underlying technology is changing, we believe the need is urgent,” it states. “This is a rare moment of agreement across stakeholders that are often at odds. We hope policymakers will meet it with decisive action.”.
The letter was reportedly organized by two think tanks: the Foundation for American Innovation and the Institute for Progress.
What’s striking here isn’t just the level of talent behind the request—it’s the shared conclusion that the current patchwork of safeguards isn’t keeping up with how quickly DNA and RNA procurement, and AI-assisted capability, are evolving.
AI leaders bioweapons synthetic DNA synthetic RNA Congress biosecurity open letter Sam Altman Dario Amodei Mustafa Suleyman Alexandr Wang Demis Hassabis Twist Bioscience Ansa Biotechnologies