AI Action Plan a Critical Step for AIxBio Innovation, National Security, and Global Economic Competitiveness ​

The AIxBio convergence must become a key piece of America’s strategic position in this era of global technoeconomic competition and the race against China to secure biotech dominance 

23 July 2025 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Washington, DC –The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology applauds the inclusion of AIxBio in the White House’s new AI Action Plan. The Action Plan includes directives designed to retain and regain U.S. leadership at the convergence of AI and biotechnology, including several actions the NSCEB recommended earlier this year.  

In April, the NSCEB released its own 49-point action plan to Congress on the intersection of biotechnology and national security. The Commission’s report enumerated the paradigm-shifting potential of AIxBio for America’s national and economic security. 

Read the NSCEB’s report and action plan here: www.biotech.senate.gov/final-report 

The NSCEB made four recommendations on AIxBio which are reflected in the AI Action Plan: 

• Invest in AI-Enabled Science 

• NSCEB says: “Congress should authorize the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a network of “cloud labs,” giving researchers state-of-the-art tools to make data generation easier.” 

• AI Action Plan says: “Through NSF, DOE, NIST at DOC, and other Federal partners, invest in automated cloud-enabled labs for a range of scientific fields, including engineering, materials science, chemistry, biology, and neuroscience, built by, as appropriate, the private sector, Federal agencies, and research institutions in coordination and collaboration with DOE National Laboratories.” 

• Build World-Class Scientific Datasets: AI-Ready Data 

• NSCEB says: “Congress should authorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create standards that researchers must meet to ensure that U.S. biological data is ready for use in AI models.” 

• AI Action Plan says: “Direct the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Machine Learning and AI Subcommittee to make recommendations on minimum data quality standards for the use of biological, materials science, chemical, physical, and other scientific data modalities in AI model training.” 

• Build World-Class Scientific Datasets: Genome Sequencing 

• NSCEB says: “Congress should authorize and fund the Department of Interior (DOI) to create a Sequencing Public Lands Initiative to collect new data from U.S. public lands that researchers can use to drive innovation. This major initiative would seek to sequence and catalogue the genomes of animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria across the United States.” 

• AI Action Plan says: “Explore the creation of a whole-genome sequencing program for life on Federal lands, led by the NSTC and including members of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, DOE, NIH, NSF, the Department of Interior, and Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units to collaborate on the development of an initiative to establish a whole genome sequencing program for life on Federal lands (to include all biological domains). This new data would be a valuable resource in training future biological foundation models.” 

• Invest in Biosecurity 

• NSCEB says: Congress should create a consolidated, dedicated entity to protect against harms from biotechnology. This entity would turn the fragmented, blunt, and reactive system we have today into a streamlined and proactive system that right-sizes oversight and ensures effective enforcement. Such an entity would include a) regular assessments of emerging concerns, including through building and analyzing a no-fault reporting system from industry and academia; b) funding capability development for addressing those concerns, such as using AI in screening genetic sequences; and c) civil enforcement of oversight, including primary responsibility for gene synthesis security. 

• AI Action Plan says: “Require all institutions receiving Federal funding for scientific research to use nucleic acid synthesis tools and synthesis providers that have robust nucleic acid sequence screening and customer verification procedures. Create enforcement mechanisms for this requirement rather than relying on voluntary attestation. Led by OSTP, convene government and industry actors to develop a mechanism to facilitate data sharing between nucleic acid synthesis providers to screen for potentially fraudulent or malicious customers. Build, maintain, and update as necessary national security-related AI evaluations through collaboration between CAISI at DOC, national security agencies, and relevant research institutions.”