Key facts
- OpenAI supports a bipartisan House proposal requiring independent safety assessments for AI models.
- The legislation aims to establish a federal framework for AI safety.
- The bill mandates that top AI labs allow independent verification organizations to evaluate their models.
- OpenAI also supports four California bills related to AI infrastructure, auditor standards, youth protections, and bio-threat safeguards.
OpenAI is publicly backing a bipartisan legislative proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives that would mandate independent safety assessments for advanced artificial intelligence models. The company's national security risk mitigation lead, Richard Johnson, stated that OpenAI's support for the legislation parallels its thinking around AI cybersecurity and the need to address both risks and opportunities.
Recent research has highlighted the potential for AI to engineer pathogens, with studies demonstrating the design of new viruses with AI assistance. Anthropic also disclosed uncovering instances of foreign actors illicitly using its models for dangerous pathogen research. Johnson indicated that data and standards addressed in the proposed bills are essential for evaluating how powerful models may impact biosecurity, emphasizing the need to measure capabilities and risks.
Two of the bills OpenAI is endorsing would expand the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s purview over AI and biosecurity. The SCALE Biology Act would establish a new NIST program for biological data measurement standards and secure biotechnology development guidelines. The AI-Ready Bio-Data Standards Act would charge NIST with designing a framework for standards ensuring federally funded biodata is usable for AI researchers. The Web of Biological Data Act orders the Energy Department to establish a centralized biodata access resource.
OpenAI previously endorsed related bills such as the Biosecurity Modernization and Innovation Act and Homestake AI Act. Johnson noted that such legislation would help enable AI research focused on understanding the implications of rapid development for biosecurity.