AI CEOs Warn of Biological Weapons Risk

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

This is a new era of American innovation. Google is offering free AI training to US small businesses with the Google AI Professional Certificate, so they can start using AI to get more done. Find out more at grow.google.com.

Luke Vargas (0:17)

AI CEOs call on Congress to act, fearing that criminals could use the tech to unleash biological weapons. Plus, after months of warnings, a flesh-eating parasite is confirmed in US livestock, and higher ed tries to get a grasp on pandemic learning loss.

Douglas Belkin (0:35)

The elite schools in the country have been bringing back the SAT and the ACT to try to give themselves one more tool or data point to figure out if kids are going to be able to do the work in college.

Luke Vargas (0:45)

It's Thursday, June 4th. I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal, and here is the AM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today.

President Trump has told his aides that he won't resume an all-out war with Iran unless it kills American troops, private comments that shed light on his reluctance to reignite the conflict, even if it means withstanding weeks or months of smaller flare-ups. Speaking yesterday, following some of the most intense fighting since the ceasefire went into effect in early April, Trump told reporters he was willing to keep it in place.

SPEAKER_5 (1:25)

How do you define ceasefire?

Amrith Ramkumar (1:27)

Pretty much the way it is.

Douglas Belkin (1:28)

It's a different part of the world. And I'd say in that part of the world, ceasefires when you're shooting in a more moderate manner.

Luke Vargas (1:35)

While Trump has indicated that a pact to end the war could be close, he said in a New York Post interview published yesterday that a US blockade could last until September's Labor Day.

Elsewhere in Washington, top AI executives and security experts are urging Congress to protect against biological threats posed by the technology, adding to mounting pressure on lawmakers to address its risks. Journal tech policy reporter Amrith Ramkumar says that the leaders of OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind are among the signatories of a letter calling for action.

Amrith Ramkumar (2:08)

In particular, these executives and researchers are worried about gene synthesis screening, which is when companies order synthetic DNA and RNA, a key step to developing certain vaccines and biotech breakthroughs that can also be used to develop new pathogens and bioweapons.

Luke Vargas (2:24)

Amrith says that experts have been worried about that threat for some time, but because of recent breakthroughs within AI, the risk is rising dramatically by potentially giving criminals the tools to unleash new pathogens.

Amrith Ramkumar (2:36)

Many people see biological risks as the next frontier in protecting against AI threats. Congress is under pressure in general because lawmakers haven't passed any significant AI legislation.

Earlier this week, President Trump signed an executive order largely focused on cybersecurity and model oversight of powerful tools before they're released. But a lot of experts say there's more to be done in the area of biology.

Luke Vargas (2:59)

President Trump previously revoked a Biden-era screening framework for gene synthesis. While the White House last year promised to replace it with its own guidelines, a replacement policy has not yet been published. A White House official said the administration remains committed to balancing safety with innovation.

A flesh-eating screwworm has arrived in the US. A calf in southern Texas has tested positive for the New World screwworm, the first detection of the deadly fly-borne parasite in US livestock since 1966

The finding creates a headache for US ranchers and livestock producers. The American cattle herd is already at its smallest since the 1950s, according to USDA data, helping drive beef prices to record highs for US consumers. Despite the alarming headline, the USDA says that human cases are uncommon, and Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins said that food safety isn't at risk.

Brooke Rollins (3:55)

Top line, this pest does not cause any sort of a food safety issue.

It is not a disease, but simply an insect that feeds on living tissues. Once removed and cleaned, animals treated early enough, including the calf that we're talking about, the eight-week-old bovine, that calf and those animals, if they're treated early enough, will recover and are safe to enter the food supply system.

Luke Vargas (4:22)

The USDA isn't taking chances, though, setting up a more than 12-mile infection zone subject to stepped-up surveillance. It said that severely infested animals would be removed from the food supply, but that producers won't need to cull their herds, even if cases are found among their livestock.

Shares of SpaceX are set to go on sale next week for $135 a piece, in what could be the largest IPO in history. It's an unconventional IPO strategy, given the company's usually set up price range that's then refined in meetings with investors. But reporter Becky Peterson says that SpaceX is used to doing things differently.