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The National Academies will convene a committee to organize a workshop on navigating the benefits and biosecurity risks of communicating studies involving the use of computational modeling and generative Artificial Intelligence to understand and design biological systems. The committee will consider existing guidance, challenges safeguarding the benefits of publishing studies in life sciences while mitigating risks, the relevance of ongoing AI safety efforts, and policy options. Experts from journals, professional societies, academia, and industry will be actively engaged through a series of events, and key themes will be summarized in the workshop proceedings.
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Workshop
·2025
Current policies on dual-use research of concern (DURC) and pathogens with enhanced pandemic potential (PEPP) typically focus on physical laboratory work. In light of the fast-evolving advances in artificial intelligence and computational modeling, these frameworks do not effectively inform risk and...
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Description
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene a planning committee to plan and facilitate a workshop on opportunities for considering and navigating benefits and biosecurity risks of communicating studies involving computational modeling and analysis, including the use of generative artificial intelligence, of biological systems at the publication stage. The committee will consider: a) existing statements, policies and guidance, and risk mitigation practices (or safeguards) on dual use research of concern and pathogens of pandemic potential relevant to communication and publication of covered scientific activities; b) challenges and needs to effectively safeguard the benefits and promote the advances of use of computational models and analysis with biological systems, while also mitigating the risks of generating or releasing these models and associated biological information that may present to human, animal, plant, and/or ecological health and/or national security; c) relevance and utility of evolving efforts on AI safety to communication of studies involving in silico modeling and analysis and/or generative AI with biological systems; and d) policy options and norms for safeguarding the benefits and advances while reducing the risks. The committee will engage experts from leading scientific journals that publish research in biology and associated fields, professional societies and associations, Academies of Science, academia, industry, and other nongovernmental entities in the workshop. Critical themes from the workshop discussion will be summarized in a workshop proceedings.
Collaborators
Committee
Co-Chair
Co-Chair
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Audrey Thevenon
Staff Officer
Sponsors
National Science Foundation
Staff
Audrey Thevenon
Lead
Nam Vu
Jessica De Mouy
Katherine Bowman
Christl Saunders
Kavita Berger
Dasia McKoy