WORLDTECHUK puts £100m into AI biosecurity lab backed by OpenAI and Anthropic
The UK government has announced £100 million for a new AI Biosecurity Lab, which it plans to build in collaboration with OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind. According to Crypto Briefing, the initiative is aimed at the biosecurity risks that AI technology may carry.
Funding and the companies involved
The government will put £100 million into the new lab, which is designed to use advanced AI to identify and respond to biological threats. The Cabinet Office said on Saturday that OpenAI and Anthropic will add up to £200 million between them.
The government describes the lab as the world's first dedicated AI biosecurity organisation. Google DeepMind is among the partners; Google is an internet and software company based in Mountain View, while OpenAI is an artificial intelligence company based in San Francisco.
Link to the AI Security Institute
The project forms part of the UK AI Security Institute's (AISI) work to formalise and expand an existing evaluation ecosystem for frontier models. It builds on earlier partnerships between the government and these companies, particularly in biosecurity red-teaming and safety research.
Open questions
- Which specific biological threats will the lab be asked to address first?
- How will the companies' contributions be divided and governed alongside the government's £100 million?