Safety First: Input Screening for Protein Design Tools

As biological AI models like AlphaFold and RFdiffusion become more powerful, they can design proteins with novel sequences and structures that evade conventional sequence-similarity screens. The authors argue that a screening approach must account for protein function, not just sequence identity. To this end, they outline a method for AI-enabled protein binder design that predicts functional properties to flag potentially dangerous outputs. This work addresses an emerging gap in biosecurity governance for AI-driven biotechnology and could inform future screening standards and policy.