National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB)

Our first report is now live on our website! After a year of work, the Commission discusses our work at the intersection of #nationalsecurity and emerging #biotechnology as well as the research plan that will inform our comprehensive policy recommendations to be issued in 2024. It also highlights the concrete actions we have already taken to advance emerging biotechnology in the United States.? After exploring our report, we'd love to hear your insights. Please share your thoughts in the comments below or with us at [email protected]. Follow the link below to review our work: www.biotech.senate.gov

When DeepMind released AlphaFold, the AI-driven protein modeling tool, in 2021, it redefined biotechnology forever. This breakthrough shepherded in a new phase of understanding human disease, creating next-generation therapeutics, and discovering entirely new materials.?? ? At the foundation of AlphaFold’s AI algorithm was 50 years’ worth of high-quality biological data compiled by individual scientists from all over the world.? ? If one biological database could have such a major impact, imagine what would be possible if the scores of biological databases that the United States government maintains were also “AI-ready.”? ? To open the door to more AIxBio innovations, the United States needs high-quantity, high-quality biological data, and that starts with treating biological data as a strategic asset.?? ? So how do we get there?? ? Join us at the AI+Biotechnology Summit on April 10th where the NSCEB will join with experts from the Special Competitive Studies Project to chart a strategy for U.S. leadership at the convergence of AI and biotechnology.? ? Register here: https://lnkd.in/eakPqT48?

The NSCEB is pleased to announce that our major findings will be published the week of April 7th, 2025.?To mark this release, please join us on April 10th?in Washington, D.C. for the AI+Biotechnology Summit. ? The summit, in partnership with the Special Competitive Studies Project - SCSP, will feature leading voices?in biotech, AI, and national security?from industry and government, including NSCEB commissioners.?We will?chart a strategy for U.S. leadership at the convergence of AI and biotechnology. Registration is now open.?Visit our registration page here to learn more and sign-up: https://lnkd.in/eakPqT48 ? Stay?tuned for more report launch announcements to come!

“The way to achieve U.S. leadership is through a whole of government approach that is able to leverage the strengths of individual agencies and how they can plug into a larger strategy… and I think the same will go for biotech.”?? ?? NSCEB Chair Senator Todd Young questioned Office of Science and Technology Policy nominee Michael Kratsios on the importance of prioritizing biotechnology at the national level.? ?? The NSCEB final report will address how the U.S. can maintain leadership in biotechnology innovation through a whole of government strategy and how biological data is critical to that strategy.?? ?? The Commission's white paper on biological data covers how we can build a strong biological data ecosystem: https://lnkd.in/gZnx5MCq

Each year, attendees at the Munich Security Conference confront our most critical international security objectives.?? ? This year, NSCEB Vice Chair Michelle Rozo and Commissioner Paul Arcangeli joined those conversations, bringing biotechnology to the forefront of important dialogues.? ? The Commissioners laid out the major themes of our forthcoming report to Congress: American leadership in biotechnology must be a key piece of strategic technology competition and we must act now to achieve it. Special thanks to the Eurasia Group, Special Competitive Studies Project - SCSP, and Ylli Bajraktari for hosting such productive discussions.? ? Photos: MSC/PHOTOGRAPHER??

NSCEB Chair Senator Todd Young made the case for an age of American-led biotechnological achievement at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) event: Biopower: Securing American Leadership in Biotechnology:? ? “We’re amidst a great bioindustrial revolution—one that will not only redefine our security, our productivity, our well-being—but also determine whether the Enlightenment values of our founding or the authoritarian systems of our rivals will underpin the international order in the decades to come.”? ? Watch the virtual event here: https://lnkd.in/eNzWfH4y

NSCEB Chair Senator Todd Young highlights the vital importance of emerging biotechnologies to our national security and intelligence community. Biotechnology is advancing quickly and converging with other technologies in ways that open doors to innovation. However, our adversaries may look to use these emerging biotechnologies in ways that could harm the United States. It is crucial that the intelligence community understand biotechnology, be prepared to anticipate and counter any misuse, and analyze how the global norms of development and use are evolving.