Nov 3, 2025
Forecasting Autonomous AI Bio-Threat Design Capabilities: Six Models Converge on 2031
Ram Potham
This paper forecasts when frontier AI models will first achieve a critical threshold for autonomous biological threat design capabilities that cause existential risk. I develop a standardized 100-point evaluation framework and use superforecasting methodology with six independent quantitative models to analyze current AI capabilities in protein design, biosecurity screening, and autonomous research systems.
The topic is very relevant, and I like that you consider different modes of forecasting. However, at its current state, I have low confidence in the forecasts produced by this project.
Documentation leaves room to be improved. For example, it’s left unclear why Model 2 and Model 4 were excluded. For Model 5, it’s unclear to me what the different experts forecasted. Model 6 doesn’t really do scenario analysis despite its name - it just multiplies some numbers together.
The project could have benefitted from engaging more deeply with existing literature on the topic. Rather than coming up with a “standardized test” yourself, you could have used an existing benchmark, such as the Virology Capabilities Test, and forecasted performance by models on that benchmark. That would’ve been a more feasible project given the time limit.
Cite this work
@misc {
title={
(HckPrj) Forecasting Autonomous AI Bio-Threat Design Capabilities: Six Models Converge on 2031
},
author={
Ram Potham
},
date={
11/3/25
},
organization={Apart Research},
note={Research submission to the research sprint hosted by Apart.},
howpublished={https://apartresearch.com}
}


