Three of AI's biggest names signed a joint letter to Congress on June 5, calling for mandatory biosecurity screening on synthetic DNA and RNA purchases. Sam Altman of OpenAI, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, and Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind joined other technology executives urging lawmakers to require that companies selling synthetic DNA - the lab-manufactured genetic material used in vaccine development, gene therapy, and biomedical research - vet who is buying their products and why.
Current US law has no such requirement. DNA synthesis companies can fulfill orders without checking whether the sequences could be used to reconstruct dangerous pathogens. The letter argues this gap is growing more dangerous as AI tools make it easier for non-experts to design biological experiments. The proposed fix is essentially a "know your customer" rule for biology: synthetic DNA suppliers would need to screen orders against watchlists and flag requests for sequences associated with dangerous agents.
The joint signature is the most notable part. Altman, Amodei, and Hassabis compete directly for talent, cloud contracts, and regulatory goodwill - they rarely agree publicly on specific legislative asks. Amodei has been the most vocal on biosecurity specifically: his 2024 essay "Machines of Loving Grace" outlined scenarios where AI-accelerated biology could simultaneously produce major medical breakthroughs and serious risk if access to biological design tools goes unregulated. All three apparently agree this is not a policy question worth competing over.
Congress has considered biosecurity-adjacent legislation before without passing it. This letter doesn't guarantee action, but it raises the political stakes: dismissing biosecurity screening for synthetic biology now means dismissing the stated concerns of the CEOs running America's largest AI labs.