Synthetic Biology Advancement Act of 2024

• 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.

• Competitive dynamics

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has minimal coverage of AI risk domains, with only implicit mentions of competitive dynamics (6.4) through innovation and commercialization priorities. The Act primarily focuses on research funding and development rather than addressing specific AI-related risks or harms. No explicit risk mitigation measures are described.

Sector coverage

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

• Agriculture, Mining, Construction & Manufacturing
• Scientific Research & Development Services

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

• Information
• Educational Services
• Health Care & Social Assistance
• National Security

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

The document primarily governs AI use in Agriculture, Mining, Construction and Manufacturing (specifically agriculture and biotechnology manufacturing), and Scientific Research and Development Services. It also has coverage of Educational Services through training programs and Information sector through digital agriculture applications.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a Congressional Act with binding legal obligations, mandatory language ('shall'), enforcement mechanisms through federal appropriations, and regulatory oversight through the Secretary of Agriculture and reporting requirements to Congress.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is a Congressional Act proposed and enacted by the United States Congress, as indicated by the legislative format and authority structure.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Developer, AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: 1862 Institutions; 1890 Institutions; 1994 Institutions; National Laboratories; nonprofit organizations; State entities
• Summary: The Act targets eligible institutions (land-grant universities and educational institutions) that will conduct research integrating AI and synthetic biology. These institutions will develop AI applications, making them AI developers. The Act also targets government entities and nonprofits as partnership entities.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of Agriculture; National Synthetic Biology Center
• Summary: The Secretary of Agriculture has authority to establish and oversee the Center, which administers the grant program. The Center has authority to set requirements, award grants competitively, and ensure compliance with application requirements.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: National Synthetic Biology Center; Congress (relevant committees)
• Summary: The Center is required to monitor grant recipients and report findings to Congress biennially. Congress receives reports and conducts oversight through the relevant committees.

AI Lifecycle Stages

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

• Plan and Design
• Collect and Process Data
• Build and Use Model
• Verify and Validate
• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document covers multiple AI lifecycle stages with primary focus on Build and Use Model (AI development for agricultural applications), Plan and Design (research priorities and project requirements), and Operate and Monitor (evaluation and reporting). It addresses the full development pipeline from research planning through deployment and monitoring of AI-integrated synthetic biology solutions.

Technical Scope

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

• AI Models
• AI Systems

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions AI applications including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science in the context of synthetic biology research. It does not define specific AI model types, compute thresholds, or distinguish between frontier, general purpose, or task-specific AI. The focus is on AI as a tool for agricultural innovation rather than AI governance per se.