Committee Raises AI Privacy and Biosecurity Risks; Nominee Backs Reviews and Recruiting Technical Experts

Senators pressed Jim O'Neil on two intersecting concerns: how to protect medical privacy in an era of artificial intelligence and new data sources, and how to guard against risky biological research, including gains-of-function and desktop gene synthesis.

O'Neil said he ‘‘strongly support[s] the principle of medical privacy’’ and that HIPAA's privacy rule should be reviewed to ensure patient data are not exposed by AI or by nontraditional data sources such as search histories. He told senators he would consider broadening definitions of protected health information to account for emerging risks.

On biosecurity, senators expressed concern about gain-of-function research and the possibility that desktop gene-synthesis tools could be misused to create dangerous pathogens. O'Neil said he believes the risks of gain-of-function research merit careful review, that NIH had previously restricted some such research and that regulation and up-to-date technical expertise are needed. He said he would recruit technologists into the department to keep policy aligned with rapidly evolving capabilities.