Disseminating In Silico and Computational Biological Research: Navigating Benefits and Risks: Proceedings of a Workshop (2025)
Chapter: Appendix A: Statement of Task
Appendix A
Statement of Task
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene a planning committee to plan and facilitate a workshop on opportunities for considering and navigating benefits and biosecurity risks of communicating studies involving computational modeling and analysis, including the use of generative artificial intelligence, of biological systems at the publication stage. The committee will consider: a) existing statements, policies and guidance, and risk mitigation practices (or safeguards) on dual-use research of concern and pathogens with enhanced pandemic potential relevant to communication and publication of covered scientific activities; b) challenges and needs to effectively safeguard the benefits and promote the advances of use of computational models and analysis with biological systems, while also mitigating the risks of generating or releasing these models and associated biological information that may present to human, animal, plant, and/or ecological health and/or national security; c) relevance and utility of evolving efforts on AI safety to communication of studies involving in silico modeling and analysis and/or generative AI with biological systems; and d) policy options and norms for safeguarding the benefits and advances while reducing the risks. The committee will engage experts from leading scientific journals that publish research in biology and associated fields, professional societies and associations, Academies of Science, academia, industry, and other nongovernmental entities in the workshop. Critical themes from the workshop discussion will be summarized in a workshop proceedings.
