IAP Releases Meeting Report: Insights on AI and Biosecurity

The InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) announces the release of its Biosecurity Report “Science and Technology Advisory Mechanism for the Biological Weapons Convention, A Proof-of-Concept Exercise”. This document encapsulates the insights emanating from the recent ‘Proof of Concept Meeting for a Scientific Advisory Body for the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention’ (BWC) that IAP hosted in Trieste, Italy, on 27-28 February 2024.

The meeting, convened under the auspices of IAP and in coordination with the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), brought together 38 technical experts from 32 countries. Their deliberations focused on the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on global biosecurity and international cooperation within the framework of the BWC. Participants stressed the need for a continuous review process to monitor AI trends, especially its implications for biology relevant to the BWC. The report serves as the report of a putative Science Advisor to the BWC, summing up the expert deliberations from the proof of concept meeting.

The release of “Science and Technology Advisory Mechanism for the Biological Weapons Convention, A Proof-of-Concept Exercise”, deriving from the proof of concept meeting, marks a key moment in the journey towards establishing a scientific advisory body for the BWC.

Read and download the Biosecurity Report here.
Read more about the IAP Biosecurity Working Group here.

Additionally, as part of its commitment to advancing Biosecurity and Weapons Convention (BWC) security, the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) collaborated with the Friends of the Chair, UNIDIR to organize an informative webinar. This webinar, held on 25 April 2024, served as a platform to discuss the establishment of a BWC scientific and technological advisory mechanism. Speakers included distinguished experts such as Bárbara Bélkior de Souza e Silva, Deputy Permanent Representative and Special Representative of Brazil to the Conference on Disarmament, who provided opening remarks, and Peter Babigumira Ahabwe, Technical Advisor at the Uganda Ministry of Health, who delivered closing remarks. Ahabwe was also present at the Trieste meeting. Ourania Kosti, Executive Director of IAP, presented insights from the IAP Proof of Concept Meeting on a BWC Scientific Advisory Body. Moderated by James Revill, Head of WMD Programme at UNIDIR, the event aimed to stimulate dialogue and thinking around a mechanism during the intersessional period.

Watch the video recording of the webinar here: