Measuring Biological Capabilities and Risks of AI Agents

Generating and Interpreting Evidence from Agentic Evaluations

Patricia Paskov, Jeffrey Lee, Kyle Brady, Alyssa Worland

Expert InsightsPublished Feb 10, 2026

This perspective examines biological agentic evaluations as an emerging tool for assessing the capabilities and risks of autonomous AI systems in biological contexts. Drawing on hands-on evaluation experience, it offers practical guidance on defining, designing, running, scoring, and interpreting evaluations, highlighting how design choices shape conclusions and policy relevance.

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Paskov, Patricia, Jeffrey Lee, Kyle Brady, and Alyssa Worland, Measuring Biological Capabilities and Risks of AI Agents: Generating and Interpreting Evidence from Agentic Evaluations. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2026. https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA4710-1.html.
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