New Delhi, June 6 -- The chief executives of three leading artificial intelligence companies have jointly petitioned Congress to implement mandatory screening protocols for the sale of synthetic DNA and RNA materials, citing evidence that advanced AI systems are eroding historical barriers that have protected against the development of biological weapons. The unprecedented collaboration between competitors represents a rare moment of alignment on policy within an industry typically characterised by commercial rivalry.

Dario Amodei, Sam Altman, and Mustafa Suleyman, leading OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft AI respectively, affixed their signatures to a letter directed toward Congress. The communication also bore the endorsement of dozens ...