OpenAI has announced its support for three U.S. legislative proposals intended to reduce risks that artificial intelligence could amplify biological threats while also improving AI’s utility for biodefense, Politico reported.
The three bills
- SCALE Biology Act: would create a new program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop measurement standards for biological data and issue guidance for the safe development of biotechnologies.
- AI-Ready Bio-Data Standards Act: would require NIST to establish a standards framework to ensure that federally funded biological data can be used for AI research.
- Web of Biological Data Act: would direct the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to build a central system that facilitates access to biological data.
All three bills aim to produce higher-quality, interoperable biological datasets and common standards to support AI-driven research.
OpenAI’s rationale
Richard Johnson, OpenAI’s lead for reducing national security risks, said such data and standards are important because they would allow continuous measurement of how AI models’ capabilities evolve and what biological risks they pose. He added that policymakers and developers should not only focus on AI’s risks but also on how to put the technology in the hands of defenders: “We should be concerned about both safety and risk, but we also need to examine how to get these tools into the hands of defenders.”
Context: debate over development pace
Concerns about biological risk are increasingly part of the debate over the pace of AI development. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, referenced these risks in a recent essay arguing for a more deliberate, slower development rhythm. Johnson said the key is ensuring model progress does not outpace understanding of what models can do and how they might be misused.
Why this matters
Common standards and accessible, AI-ready biological data would enable more objective risk measurement, better comparability, and faster defensive responses. These regulatory measures are intended to make development and application of technology safer—particularly where AI and biotechnology intersect and pose potential national security concerns.
Sources and note
The support was reported by Politico. An AI assistant contributed to preparing the article; the final content was edited and verified by a journalist.
Tags: artificial intelligence, legislation, standards, biological data, OpenAI, NIST, DOE, national security
