Virtual Event | AI and the Evolution of Biological National Security Risks

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In the wake of a global pandemic and rapidly advancing AI technologies, scientists and government leaders from around the world have sounded alarms about a changing biothreat landscape. Between dire warnings of more widely accessible bioterrorism capabilities, novel superviruses, and next generation bioweapons, how should policymakers weigh the impacts of AI on biosecurity? Where are risks really changing, and where have they been overblown? What actions need to be taken now, and what emerging capabilities need to be monitored for future threats?

On August 21, CNAS hosted a panel discussion on these questions and more. Bill Drexel, Fellow in CNAS’s Technology and National Security Team, was joined by leading biosecurity experts inside and outside government grappling with the nexus of AI and emerging biotechnologies.

This panel is part of CNAS’s AI Safety and Stability project, which aims to better understand AI risks and identify specific steps to improve AI safety and stability in national security applications. The event will build upon the project’s new report, AI and the Evolution of Biological National Security Risks: Capabilities, Thresholds, and Interventions in which Bill Drexel and Caleb Withers provide a clear-eyed overview of the emerging effects of AI on the biothreat landscape and propose actionable solutions to avoid the worst outcomes.

Featuring:

Anita Cicero
Deputy Director at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley
Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Biodefense Graduate Program
George Mason University

Stephanie Guerra
Senior Advisor, U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute

Hosted by:

Bill Drexel
Fellow, Technology and National Security Program
CNAS

For registration questions, contact Jasmine Butler at j[email protected]​​​​​​​. For media inquiries, contact Alexa Whaley at [email protected]