UN Task Force on Pandemic Prevention in an Age of Risky Research, Synthetic Biology, Artificial Intelligence, and the Potential for Bioterrorism
Creators: name: Quay, Steven Carl
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: subject: United Nations
subject: Pandemic Preparedness
subject: Bioterrorism

description: Updated Abstract

This proposal presents a plan to establish a United Nations Task Force on Pandemic Prevention in an Age of Risky Research, Synthetic Biology, Artificial Intelligence, and Bioterrorism. The initiative is structured around two principal phases: a comprehensive fact-finding process and a set of policy recommendations for global implementation. The first phase will assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, establish a detailed historical record of laboratory-acquired infections and natural spillovers, and generate an evidence-based report for policymakers on the proliferation of high-containment laboratories and the global effort to mitigate risky biological research. A central goal of this analysis is to develop a model for understanding civilizational vulnerability in future pandemics, with emphasis on pathogen infectivity, asymptomatic spread, and systemic disruptions to infrastructure and governance.

This updated version incorporates key insights from recent developments in biosecurity discourse, particularly a 2025 Science article that critiques the structural limitations of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). The article highlights the absence of meaningful compliance and transparency mechanisms in the BWC, pointing to a specific diplomatic breakdown between the United States and China in 2019. U.S. Department of Defense officials had raised concerns about research on marine neurotoxins conducted in PLA laboratories—an inquiry that was met with disinformation and led to the suspension of dialogue. This incident set the stage for the geopoliticization of COVID-19 origin narratives and underscores the consequences of unregulated dual-use research.

The same report also documents advances in artificial intelligence–driven synthetic biology that now allow researchers to design novel proteins incorporating noncanonical amino acids. These synthetic sequences can evade standard DNA synthesis screening tools, revealing an urgent need to revise the definition of Synthetic Select Agents and to modernize regulatory frameworks accordingly. In response, this proposal recommends broadening compliance mechanisms to include not only state actors but also the private sector. DNA synthesis companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and contract research organizations can act as distributed, politically neutral monitors by implementing enhanced screening protocols and allowing limited inspections under revised treaty frameworks.

Furthermore, the article cites recent U.S. intelligence assessments concluding that Russia and North Korea are currently maintaining active offensive bioweapons programs. Satellite imagery has confirmed renovations at known Soviet-era facilities such as Sergiyev Posad-6, reaffirming the necessity for prioritized inspection regimes and surveillance of high-risk sites. These developments are consistent with this proposal’s recommendation for a global pathogen early warning system, including wastewater monitoring at international transit hubs and live animal markets.

Ultimately, the goal of the Task Force is to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention through practical, science-informed governance. Recommendations include unannounced inspections of BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories, international protocols for biosurveillance, and data sharing measures modeled after climate science and nuclear arms control. In an era where biology and computation are converging rapidly, only globally coordinated and adaptive institutions can safeguard humanity from the existential threats posed by emerging biotechnologies.