{"slug": "in-support-of-mandatory-nucleic-acid-synthesis-screening-and-recordkeeping", "title": "In Support of Mandatory Nucleic Acid Synthesis Screening and Recordkeeping", "summary": "A coalition of AI and biotechnology leaders, including Demis Hassabis, Sam Altman, and Dario Amodei, is urging Congress to mandate screening and recordkeeping for all orders of synthetic nucleic acids and DNA synthesis equipment. The group warns that rapid advances in AI are eroding knowledge barriers that have historically prevented bad actors from obtaining biological weapons, making voluntary industry safeguards insufficient. The signatories argue that mandatory screening is a well-understood, minimally disruptive measure that would establish a consistent national standard and deter misuse of dual-use biotechnology.", "body_md": "As life sciences researchers, builders of AI and biotechnology, and experts with a wide range of views on how to approach AI policy, we call on legislators to make screening of orders for synthetic nucleic acids — and the equipment needed to make them — mandatory.\n\nThe ability to order synthetic DNA online has accelerated vaccine development, powered basic research, and made it possible for small teams to access capabilities that used to be confined to major institutions. Since the [publication](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1490301/) of protocols to reconstruct viruses from strands of DNA more than two decades ago, it has also been [recognized](https://arep.med.harvard.edu/pdf/Bugl07.pdf) as a point in the biotechnology supply chain where a bad actor could cause outsized harm. Recognizing the vulnerability, synthesis companies formed the International Gene Synthesis Consortium in 2009 to develop and implement voluntary safeguards against misuse.\n\nWhile the issue is not new, the pace of progress in artificial intelligence is. AI systems now [outperform](https://www.virologytest.ai/) PhD-level virologists on questions about highly technical laboratory procedures in their own domains of expertise. The evidence about what this means for present-day biosecurity threats is genuinely mixed, but the trend is hard to dispute. AI systems are improving rapidly, and alongside incredible benefits to science and medicine, there is a real possibility that the knowledge barriers which have historically prevented bad actors from obtaining biological weapons will meaningfully erode.\n\nSupport for screening does not depend on any particular view of AI; the biosecurity case has been recognized by scientists and governments for decades. Screening is also one of the best understood and least disruptive biosecurity measures available. It asks providers of synthesized DNA and manufacturers of synthesis machines to check synthesis requests for sequences of concern and to verify customer legitimacy before shipping orders. Providers should also record synthesis orders and sequence data to support legitimate biosecurity investigations, so that any threat that might evade initial screening can be traced back to its source — including when individual sequences would not raise concern in isolation. Awareness of traceability itself deters misuse.\n\nMany of the largest and most responsible providers in the industry already screen and record orders voluntarily because it is well understood that they have an important role to play in maintaining public trust in and mitigating potential misuse of this important technology.\n\nFor these reasons, the undersigned support mandatory nucleic acid synthesis screening, including recordkeeping, in the United States.\n\nGiven the pace at which the underlying technology is changing, we believe the need is urgent. Congress should act this session, and we applaud the legislative efforts currently underway. To ensure a consistent national standard rather than a patchwork of conflicting laws, states should also consider implementing requirements based on existing federal and industry guidelines.\n\nThis is a rare moment of agreement across stakeholders that are often at odds. We hope policymakers will meet it with decisive action.\n\nSincerely,\n\nSignatories\n\nThe undersigned —\n\nTech\n\nDemis Hassabis\nCEO, Google DeepMind; Recipient of 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry\n\nSam Altman\nCEO and Co-Founder, OpenAI\n\nDario Amodei\nCEO and Co-Founder, Anthropic\n\nAlexandr Wang\nChief AI Officer, Meta; Founder, Scale AI\n\nPaul Graham\nFounder, Y Combinator\n\nMustafa Suleyman\nCEO, Microsoft AI\n\nPatrick Collison\nCEO and Co-Founder, Stripe\n\nMartin E. Hellman\nProfessor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University; Recipient of 2015 ACM Turing Award\n\nSayash Kapoor\nResearcher, Princeton University; Co-Author, *AI Snake Oil*; Co-Author, *AI as Normal Technology*\n\nPeter Diamandis\nFounder and Executive Chairman, XPRIZE Foundation; Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Singularity University; Co-Founder and Vice Chairman, Celularity\n\nEric Horvitz\nChief Scientific Officer, Microsoft\n\nJason Kwon\nChief Strategy Officer, OpenAI\n\nPushmeet Kohli\nChief Scientist, Google Cloud; Vice President, Google DeepMind\n\nWojciech Zaremba\nHead of AI Resilience, OpenAI Foundation; Co-Founder, OpenAI\n\nGeoff Ralston\nFounder, Safe AI Fund; Former President, Y Combinator\n\nNathan Lambert\nFounder and Researcher, Interconnects AI\n\nBoaz Barak\nMember of Technical Staff, OpenAI; Professor, Harvard University\n\nAviya Skowron\nHead of Policy, EleutherAI\n\nJacob Trefethen\nHead of Life Sciences and Curing Diseases, OpenAI Foundation\n\nBen Brooks\nAffiliate, Berkman Klein Center, Harvard University\n\nNucleic Acid Synthesis Industry\n\nEmily Leproust\nCEO and Co-Founder, Twist Bioscience\n\nJason T. Gammack\nCEO, Ansa Biotechnologies\n\nJames C. Diggans\nVice President for Policy & Biosecurity, Twist Bioscience; Chair of the Board of Directors, International Gene Synthesis Consortium\n\nSridhar Govindarajan\nCTO, ATUM\n\nPatrick Finn\nPresident and Chief Operating Officer, Twist Bioscience\n\nSiyuan Chen\nChief Technology Officer, Twist Bioscience\n\nDaniel Lin-Arlow\nCSO and Co-Founder, Ansa Biotechnologies\n\nSebastian Palluk\nCTO and Co-Founder, Ansa Biotechnologies\n\nDJ Kleinbaum\nCo-Founder, Emerald Cloud Lab\n\nKevin Flyangolts\nCEO and Founder, Aclid\n\nPiers Millet\nExecutive Director, International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science (IBBIS)\n\nLife Sciences and Biotechnology\n\nDavid Baker\nDirector, Institute for Protein Design; Henrietta and Aubrey Davis Endowed Professor of Biochemistry, University of Washington School of Medicine; Recipient of 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry\n\nDrew Endy\nBioengineer; Director for Bio-Strategies & Leadership, Hoover Institution, Stanford University\n\nDavid Haussler\nScientific Director, UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute; Distinguished Professor, Biomolecular Engineering, UC Santa Cruz; Co-Founder, Global Alliance for Genomics and Health\n\nKathleen McMahon\nCo-Founder, Valthos\n\nSandeep Patel\nCEO and Founder, Catalyze; Former Director, BARDA DRIVe\n\nJohn Glass\nProfessor and La Jolla, CA Campus Director, J. Craig Venter Institute\n\nDavid A. Relman\nThomas C. and Joan M. Merigan Professor in Medicine, Stanford University\n\nHon. Mark R. Dybul\nProfessor, Department of Medicine, Georgetown University Medical Center; Former Executive Director, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Former United States Global AIDS Coordinator\n\nMilana Trounce\nClinical Professor in Emergency Medicine, Stanford University\n\nChris Somerville\nProfessor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley\n\nTom Inglesby\nDirector, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health\n\nKevin Esvelt\nAssociate Professor, MIT Media Lab\n\nBecky Mackelprang\nDirector for Security Programs, Engineering Biology Research Consortium\n\nHannu Rajaniemi\nCo-Founder and CEO, HelixNano; Co-Founder, Red Queen Bio\n\nNikolai Eroshenko\nCo-Founder, HelixNano; Co-Founder and CEO, Red Queen Bio\n\nMatthew F. McKnight\nCEO, Perimeter\n\nGary Abel\nChief Scientist and Co-Founder, Fourth Eon Biosecurity\n\nJacob Glanville\nFounder and CEO, Centivax\n\nRachel E. Levinson\nVisiting Scholar, Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes, Arizona State University\n\nNational Security and Policy\n\nGerald W. Parker\nFormer Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Biosecurity and Pandemic Response, White House National Security Council\n\nHon. Christine E. Wormuth\nPresident and CEO, Nuclear Threat Initiative; 25th Secretary of the Army\n\nRADM Kenneth Bernard (USPHS, Ret.)\nFormer Special Assistant to the President for Biodefense\n\nHon. Richard Danzig\n71st Secretary of the Navy\n\nHon. Andy Weber\nFormer Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs\n\nLawrence Lessig\nRoy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership, Harvard Law School\n\nAlex T. Tabarrok\nBartley J. Madden Chair in Economics, Mercatus Center; Professor of Economics, George Mason University\n\nAbigail Ball\nExecutive Director, American Compass\n\nTristan Harris\nCo-Founder, Center for Humane Technology\n\nZach Graves\nCEO and President, Foundation for American Innovation\n\nAlec Stapp\nCEO and Co-Founder, Institute for Progress\n\nIan Mair\nCEO, Foundation for American Innovation Action\n\nDean W. Ball\nSenior Fellow, Foundation for American Innovation\n\nJosh Wentzel\nSenior Fellow, Foundation for American Innovation\n\nMallory Stewart\nCEO, Council on Strategic Risks\n\nChristine Parthemore\nCouncil on Strategic Risks\n\nJason Crawford\nFounder and President, Roots of Progress Institute\n\nClaire Qureshi\nCEO and Co-Founder, Sentinel Bio\n\nJoshua Monrad\nCo-Founder, Sentinel Bio", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/in-support-of-mandatory-nucleic-acid-synthesis-screening-and-recordkeeping", "canonical_source": "https://screendna.org/", "published_at": "2026-06-04 03:14:23+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-04 03:46:56.347153+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-safety", "ai-policy", "ai-research"], "entities": ["International Gene Synthesis Consortium", "AI", "PhD-level virologists", "biotechnology supply chain"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/in-support-of-mandatory-nucleic-acid-synthesis-screening-and-recordkeeping", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/in-support-of-mandatory-nucleic-acid-synthesis-screening-and-recordkeeping.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/in-support-of-mandatory-nucleic-acid-synthesis-screening-and-recordkeeping.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/in-support-of-mandatory-nucleic-acid-synthesis-screening-and-recordkeeping.jsonld"}}