Building Resilience Against Artificial Intelligence–Enabled Biological Threats

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly embedded across the life sciences and has the potential to drive advancements in biotechnology and medicine. Simultaneously, as AI systems become more capable, accessible, and integrated into biological workflows, the risk that these technologies could be misused—intentionally or inadvertently—has become a growing concern for researchers, policymakers, and security practitioners alike.

To address this challenge, Helena and the RAND Center for AI, Security, and Technology convened the From Risk to Resilience: An AI x Bio Mitigations Workshop on January 14 and 15, 2026, in Washington, D.C. The workshop brought together 22 participants, including AI researchers, biotechnology and industry leaders, biosecurity experts, ethicists, and systems thinkers. Participants were organized into small teams tasked with developing high-impact mitigation strategies across key components of the risk chain at the intersection of AI and biology (AI x bio), such as AI model capabilities, critical infrastructure and supply chain vulnerabilities, and governance gaps.

Participants developed mitigation strategies with broad applicability that spanned technical, policy, operational, and organizational interventions, and they identified implementation dependencies, potential failure modes, and trade-offs. The outcome of this process was a diverse portfolio of mitigation strategies accompanied by preliminary implementation roadmaps and articulated stakeholder responsibilities.

These conference proceedings summarize the workshop’s discussions and outputs and can be of interest to policymakers, industry players, research institutions, and other stakeholders seeking to translate the growing concern about AI-enabled biological risks into practical, near- and long-term actions.