Washington (February 11, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.) today introduced the Strategy for Public Health Preparedness and Response to Artificial Intelligence Threats Act. 

The bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a strategy for public health preparedness and response to address the risks of misuse of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly with regard to the development of biological or chemical weapons.

“The federal government has fallen behind before in addressing the grave risks posed by emerging technologies. We can’t make the same mistake with the technologies of our future. Paired with robust federal investment in research, this legislation would ensure that our federal government and leading experts not only understand the grave risks of artificial intelligence to our health and safety, but are ready to act with the urgency this moment requires. I thank Senator Budd for his partnership ensuring that the federal government prepares for the public health and national security risks for artificial intelligence before it’s too late,” said Senator Markey.

“As AI grows in power and influence, we may face the real prospect of AI-generated threats like biological or chemical weapons. We cannot be caught flat-footed on these threats and should begin to prepare now. I’m glad to work with Senator Markey to face potential AI threats head on,” said Senator Budd.

Artificial intelligence is a rapidly developing technology with the potential to revolutionize many aspects of our lives. However, AI poses potential threats to public health. 

For example, a 2019 study published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence explored how AI could be used to design new chemical weapons. The paper’s authors found that AI could be used to quickly and efficiently design new compounds that were highly toxic. 

Another study, conducted by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found Large Language Models (LLMs) in chatbot platforms can help people without laboratory training to develop viruses highlighted as pandemic threats. 

These research papers suggest that there is a potential for AI to be used to develop chemical and biological weapons.

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek was able to “provide instructions for a bioweapon attack.”

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