Nucleic Acid Standards for Biosecurity Act

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: U.S. federal laws
• Most recent activity: Defunct
• Most recent activity date: 2025-01-03

Risk subdomain coverage

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the risk subdomain are described.

• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use
• Governance failure
• AI possessing dangerous capabilities

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has minimal coverage of AI risk domains, with only brief mentions in 2-3 subdomains. The primary focus is on biosecurity and nucleic acid synthesis screening, with AI mentioned only as one risk factor among many in engineering biology. Coverage is limited to malicious actors (4.2) and governance (6.5), with implicit reference to system safety (7.2).

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• Scientific Research & Development Services
• Public Administration (excl. National Security)

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the sector are described.

• Agriculture, Mining, Construction & Manufacturing
• Educational Services
• Health Care & Social Assistance
• National Security

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

The document primarily governs the Scientific Research and Development Services sector, specifically focusing on biosecurity measures for nucleic acid synthesis. It also has implications for the Health Care sector through biotechnology applications and the Manufacturing sector through biomanufacturing activities.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding legislative act from the United States Congress that amends existing law with mandatory obligations, specific funding authorization, and designated enforcement authority through the Director of NIST.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: This is a Congressional Act, as indicated by the legislative format and structure. The document amends existing law (Section 10221 of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act) through Congressional action.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Developer, AI_Infrastructure_Provider, Affected_Stakeholder
• Entities: industry; institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations; customers; nucleic acid synthesis providers
• Summary: The Act targets entities involved in nucleic acid synthesis and engineering biology, including those using AI in these contexts. The consortium explicitly includes industry, higher education institutions, nonprofits, and customers as stakeholders who must follow the screening mechanisms and best practices.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); The Director (of NIST); Federal agencies
• Summary: The Director of NIST is given authority to carry out measurement research, convene the consortium, and develop technical standards and best practices. NIST receives specific appropriations to execute these activities, and the Director consults with other Federal agency heads.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); The Director (of NIST); Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives
• Summary: The Director is responsible for monitoring through the consortium's activities and must submit a report to Congressional committees. The Congressional committees receive reports summarizing findings, establishing oversight. The consortium itself evaluates impact and effectiveness of implementation.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

No lifecycle stages identified.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

No technical scope terms identified.