Trump moves to rebuild biodefences as AI fuels bioweapons fears

The Trump administration is working to strengthen US defences against biological threats as rapid advances in artificial intelligence raise concerns that the technology could make the development of dangerous pathogens easier.

The effort comes after staffing cuts and reorganisations significantly reduced White House expertise on biosecurity and delayed the replacement of key policies introduced under former President Joe Biden, Caliber.Az reports, citing The Washington Post.

By the end of Biden’s presidency, the White House had assembled a team of up to 30 officials focused on biological security, according to former government officials who worked on the issue under the Biden and Trump administrations. The team coordinated federal agencies dealing with biological threats and provided scientific advice to senior policymakers.

That expertise was sharply reduced after Trump returned to office. Former officials said the White House at times had no staff member working solely on biosecurity, while key health-security offices and programmes across the government were also dismantled or reorganised.

The administration also revoked a 2023 executive order on AI that called for stronger biological safeguards and delayed replacing a Biden-era policy requiring companies to screen customers seeking genetic components that could potentially be used to create biological agents. Trump ordered a revised policy by August 2025, but it has yet to be released.

A White House official said the administration was working to strengthen the previous policy, describing it as inadequate and technically limited. The official said the administration’s commitment to addressing AI and biological safety risks was “clear and ongoing”.

Concerns have grown as AI systems become increasingly capable in biological research. OpenAI has warned that advanced models could significantly increase existing risks of severe harm and has been briefing US officials on potential biological applications. Recent research has also demonstrated that AI can be used to design new viruses that infect bacteria, highlighting capabilities that scientists say could eventually become more consequential.

At the same time, the Pentagon is using AI to accelerate the development of biological defences, including research into antibodies and responses to emerging pathogens.

Experts remain divided over how quickly AI could enable biological attacks. Current barriers between digital AI systems and physical laboratory work provide an important line of defence, but researchers warn that increasing laboratory automation could weaken that barrier.

Former officials and security analysts argue that the loss of government expertise risks leaving the United States less prepared as AI capabilities advance. Stanford professor David Relman described the situation as a “massive collective-action problem”, while retired Air Force General Paul Friedrichs said cuts had “unquestionably” weakened national preparedness.

The central challenge for Washington, experts say, is to strengthen safeguards against emerging biological threats without unnecessarily restricting legitimate scientific research and the potential benefits of AI-assisted medicine.

By Aghakazim Guliyev