Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is raising urgent concerns about bioterrorism and biosafety associated with artificial intelligence.
Sen. Ossoff launched an inquiry with Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Michael Kratsios after researchers and CEOs of several AI companies signed an open letter urging the Federal government to implement mandatory screening of orders for artificially generated nucleic acids due to concerns that artificial intelligence could be misused by bad actors to produce chemical and biological weapons.
In October 2023, President Biden directed the Federal government to address the misuse of synthetic nucleic acids and increase biosecurity measures. President Trump rescinded this order and later directed OSTP to revise or replace the 2024 framework. However, it is not clear if this framework has been revised or replaced.
“Without adequate safeguards, including both screening and traceability processes, malicious actors could use advances in AI to develop potentially dangerous pathogens and biological weapons,” Sen. Ossoff wrote.
Sen. Ossoff continues working to protect Georgians from harm.
In June, Sen. Ossoff worked with Republicans and Democrats to crack down on criminals preying on kids online by cosponsoring the Ending Coercion of Children and Harm Online (ECCHO) Act.
In April, Sen. Ossoff launched inquiries with Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon, and X over tech companies’ advertisement and distribution of “nudifying” apps that allow users to swiftly create explicit images of children and teenagers.
In 2024, Sens. Ossoff and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)’s bipartisan REPORT Act was passed into law, requiring for the first time websites and social media platforms to report crimes involving Federal trafficking and enticement of children to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). In 2025, the first full year after implementation, online platforms submitted 105,877 reports – a more than 1,100% increase that underscores the impact of expanded reporting requirements.
Also in 2024, during a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, Sen. Ossoff pressed Mark Zuckerberg, whose company owns Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, on threats to children’s safety and their mental health on social media platforms.
In 2023, Sen. Ossoff, as then-Chairman of the Senate Human Rights Subcommittee, convened a bipartisan hearing to explore the implications of artificial intelligence for human rights.
Click here to read Sen. Ossoff’s full inquiry.
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