AI CEOs Ask Congress to Mandate Bioweapon Material Screening

The chief executives of three leading artificial intelligence companies have joined forces to request federal regulation of synthetic biological materials, warning that their own technology could lower barriers to creating biological weapons.

Sam Altman of OpenAI, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, and Mustafa Suleyman of Microsoft AI co-signed an open letter to Congress calling for mandatory screening of synthetic DNA and RNA purchases. The letter, organized by the Foundation for American Innovation and the Institute for Progress, was also signed by dozens of life sciences and national security experts—and notably, by manufacturers of these materials including Twist Bioscience and Ansa Biotechnologies.

Why it matters

This rare display of industry consensus signals growing concern that rapidly advancing AI models could democratize access to dangerous biological knowledge. With generative AI reaching 53% of the global population in just three years according to Stanford research, and publicly available models already capable of providing bioweapon creation guidance, the window for preventive regulation may be narrowing.

The screening proposal

While some companies that sell synthetic DNA and RNA already conduct voluntary screening, the letter advocates for legally mandated industry-wide requirements. The proposed regulations would compel manufacturers to screen both customers and orders, maintain detailed records of materials sold, and preserve specifications that could aid biosecurity investigations.

The letter acknowledges AI's benefits to science and medicine while warning that "knowledge barriers which have historically prevented bad actors from obtaining biological weapons will meaningfully erode" as AI systems improve.

Legislative momentum

Congress has already begun addressing these concerns. In February, Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced the Biosecurity Modernization and Innovation Act of 2026, which would require screening while exempting materials that pose no credible public health threat.

Josh Wentzel, a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, characterized the letter as demonstrating alignment between AI companies and synthetic biology manufacturers. "This is bipartisan, concrete, achievable, and noncontroversial," he said, expressing hope that the unified stance would accelerate passage of the pending legislation.

Historical context

Biological weapons remain rare in terrorist attacks, accounting for just 0.02% of historical incidents according to research published in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine. However, their potential lethality remains severe. The 2001 anthrax attacks, which killed five people and infected 22 others through contaminated letters, demonstrated the devastating impact even small-scale biological attacks can achieve.

Existing federal law already prohibits developing or possessing biological agents as weapons, with penalties up to life imprisonment under the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989. The PATRIOT Act later expanded prosecution capabilities for possession of dangerous biological agents.

These details were first reported by Fortune.