The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has published a new analysis highlighting the proliferation risks associated with emerging actors in the biotechnology sector, particularly cloud laboratories.
The report underscores that advances in biotechnology, combined with the diversification of actors—ranging from start-ups to do-it-yourself biology communities—are posing new challenges for export controls and non-proliferation frameworks.
Cloud laboratories, which offer modular, automated labs accessible remotely by users to conduct experiments and AI-enabled research, are identified as a novel and potentially high-risk element of the biotechnology landscape.
According to SIPRI, these platforms exemplify how technological convergence may complicate efforts to prevent the misuse of life sciences for chemical or biological weapons (CBW) development.
The authors—Kolja Brockmann, Lauriane Héau, and Giovanna Maletta of the SIPRI Dual-Use and Arms Trade Control Programme—recommend that European Union member states and Australia Group participants enhance outreach to cloud lab providers. They urge the development of guidance materials and best practices to mitigate CBW proliferation risks.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here