White House seeks safeguards against AI-related biological risks after cutting its specialist team

White House seeks safeguards against AI-related biological risks after cutting its specialist team

On August 17, The Washington Post reported that, toward the end of the Joe Biden administration, up to 30 biosecurity specialists worked at the White House. Former officials said that after staffing cuts and reorganizations, there were periods when no dedicated employee was working on the issue.

Protection against AI-related biological risks requires action at several points. An analysis of risk across the full workflow of a trained biologist illustrates the sequence: a model can help design a DNA sequence, a synthetic DNA provider can screen the order, and a laboratory can provide access to equipment and biological samples. Government policy connects these points through regulations and the work of federal agencies.

One of these points is the ordering of synthetic DNA. The 2024 framework tied federal funding to screening both the sequence and the customer. Laboratories must purchase DNA, other nucleic acids, and benchtop devices for synthesizing them from providers that comply with these requirements. The White House executive order of May 5, 2025 gave the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy 90 days to revise or replace the framework. The ASPR page still states that it will be updated after the new text is published.

On July 28, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a new government-wide policy for oversight of high-risk life sciences research. It prohibits federal funding for some research that intentionally enhances dangerous properties of pathogens and introduces independent review for some high-risk studies. Order screening addresses a different issue: the provider checks which sequence it is supplying and who will receive it.

The White House team described by The Washington Post coordinated federal agencies and provided scientific advice to senior officials. Its responsibilities included bringing the government's work with AI developers, DNA providers, and laboratories together into a coherent policy.