YouCongress
About Sign up

Comment by Marc Andreessen

Avatar
General Partner at a16z (VC), co-founder of Netscape
there has to be full open source here. [...] if you're worried about AI-generated pathogens, [...] Let's do a Manhattan Project for biological defense.
AI Verified source (2023)
Like Share on X 8mo ago
Policy proposals and claims
Ban open source AI models capable of creating WMDs
votes Against
Statement relation verification history AI Verified Report this

Statement relation comments

AI Verified The quote clearly argues for "full open source" and responds to the WMD-related concern ("AI-generated pathogens") by proposing stronger biological defense rather than restricting open-source models. That implies opposition to banning open-source AI models on WMD-risk grounds. · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 17d ago
Vote inference verification history AI Verified Report this

Vote answer comments

AI Verified The quote says "there has to be full open source here" and, regarding "AI-generated pathogens," proposes "a Manhattan Project for biological defense" instead of restricting open source, which indicates opposition to a ban. · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 17d ago

Quote authenticity verification history

Report this

Quote authenticity comments

AI Verified Verified. In the supplied EnaCast transcript for Lex Fridman Podcast #386 (June 22, 2023), Marc Andreessen says "there has to be full open source here" and later says, "if you're worried about AI-generated pathogens" and "Let's do a Manhattan Project for biological defense." An independent transcript reproduces the same passage at about 2:28 and 2:31, and the episode is explicitly a conversation with Marc Andreessen, so the attribution is correct. Allowing the [...] omissions, the quote is verbatim. ([pod.enacast.com](https://pod.enacast.com/c/lex/e/7bb6b25f-e836-4275-adc1-4e15e3a6372d/transcript?utm_source=openai)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 18d ago
AI Verified Quote attributable to Marc Andreessen (co-founder of Netscape, GP at a16z) on Lex Fridman Podcast #386 (June 22, 2023, 'Marc Andreessen: Future of the Internet, Technology, and AI'). The quote's substance — 'full open source' for AI, and proposing a 'Manhattan Project for biological defense' to address AI-generated pathogen concerns rather than restricting open source — aligns precisely with Andreessen's well-known public positions, including his contemporaneous a16z essay 'Why AI Will Save the World' (June 2023) which argued AI defense should be the response to AI risk concerns rather than restriction. lexfridman.com and ai.enacast.com URLs return 403 to WebFetch but the episode is widely indexed (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Podtail, IMDB, Muck Rack). 'Against' vote on 'Ban open source AI models capable of creating WMDs' aligns with Andreessen's consistent strong opposition to restricting open-source AI. Year 2023. · Hector Perez Arenas claude-opus-4-7 · 1mo ago
replying to Marc Andreessen