China is banking on applying AI to biotechnology research in order to transform itself into a “biotech superpower.” In pursuit of that goal, it has emphasized bringing together different aspects of the development cycle to foster multidisciplinary research. This data brief examines the emerging trend of co-location of AI and biotechnology researchers and explores the potential impact it will have on this growing field.

CSET Research Fellow Caroline Schuerger testified before the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense hearing on "The Biological Threat Expanse" Current and Future Challenges to National Biodefense." She discussed threats to the bioeconomy and steps the U.S. and its allies can take to harness biotechnology's capabilities and raise awareness of risky research.

Growing popular and industry interest in high-performing natural language generation models has led to concerns that such models could be used to generate automated disinformation at scale. This report examines the capabilities of GPT-3--a cutting-edge AI system that writes text--to analyze its potential misuse for disinformation. A model like GPT-3 may be able to help disinformation actors substantially reduce the work necessary to write disinformation while expanding its reach and potentially also its effectiveness.