As Top AI CEOs call on Congress to protect against bioweapons, California leads the way with Berman Bill

Assembly Bill 1864 requires producers of synthetic genes and manufacturers of gene synthesis equipment to screen customer orders for dangerous pathogen sequences and verify the legitimacy of customers, reducing the risk of AI-enabled bioweapons.

• Isabelle Grassel
• Communications/Legislative Assistant
• (916) 319-2023
• [email protected]

SACRAMENTO, CA - As top artificial intelligence CEOs call on Congress to prevent AI-enabled biological attacks, California answers the call with proactive legislation by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) to prevent the misuse of gene synthesis technology and protect public health.

This week the CEOs of Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google's DeepMind AI lab, along with dozens of other CEOs and experts in biotechnology, signed a letter urging Congress to pass legislation requiring the biotechnology industry to adopt gene synthesis screening - an industry recognized safeguard to ensure key material used to make biological weapons, such as the DNA of dangerous pathogens, are not obtained by individuals seeking to endanger public health.

This letter acknowledges that AI lowers the technical barriers for individuals to create and unleash a biological weapon.

Senior executives at California-based nucleic acid synthesis companies Ansa Biotechnologies, ATUM, and Twist Bioscience also signed the letter, showing that screening has industry support. As the letter notes, many companies already voluntarily screen orders.

AB 1864 is first-in-the-nation legislation that would require producers of synthetic genes and manufacturers of gene synthesis equipment operating in California to screen customer orders for dangerous pathogen sequences and verify the legitimacy of customers.

"AI makes it easier to complete what used to be very complicated, technical, and expensive tasks. While there are many instances where this can benefit society, in the wrong hands it can pose a deadly threat. That is the case when it comes to lowering barriers to creating bioweapons," said Assemblymember Berman. "We must not wait for a public health crisis or bioterrorism attack to take action to require screening of orders for synthetic nucleic acids and the equipment needed to make them. My bill, AB 1864, is a commonsense approach to require this industry recognized best practice that will keep Californians safe and defend against biological threats."

AB 1864 is co-sponsored by Encode AI and Secure AI Project and is supported by Anthropic.

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