New CNAS Commentary: “Biotech Matters: Automated Scientists Will Power Tomorrow’s Bioeconomy”

Washington, March 7, 2024 — Today, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) released a new commentary, Biotech Matters: Automated Scientists Will Power Tomorrow’s Bioeconomy by CNAS BioTech Task Force member Dr. David A. Markowitz.

Dr. Markowitz’s new commentary underscores the seismic shift of the coming AI-enabled biorevolution, drawing parallels to the transformative impact smartphones had two decades ago.

This new commentary highlights the national security implications of advancements in emerging biotech and emphasizes the need for increased government engagement with the engineering biology community to accelerate innovation. The commentary also provides concrete recommendations for how policymakers can responsibly seize AI’s potential for biotechnology innovation, from cultivating an open data ecosystem to bridging the gap between the scientific and national security communities.

The piece is the latest article of Biotech Matters, a new six-part commentary series on emerging issues in biotechnology and national security, published by the CNAS Technology and National Security program. Prior commentaries published as part of Biotech Matters can be read here.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Dr. Markowitz, please contact Alexa Whaley at awhaley@cnas.org.