Artificial intelligence agents might occasionally get confused and hack into other computers, but Anthropic thinks it has a way to unleash the little rascals into scientific labs and manufacturing facilities safely.

The AI company released details today of a new framework designed to help AI agents use physical systems like microscopes, liquid-handling equipment, quantum computing hardware, manufacturing machines, and robot arms.

The framework, called Model Hardware Standard, is a set of rules that specify how AI agents should—and should not—interact with all sorts of hardware. It reflects a growing belief that AI has the potential to revolutionize scientific research and industries like manufacturing–if it can venture into the physical world safely.

The company says it will work with trusted partners to determine how to maximize safety before making it generally available. Though there are potential misuse issues involved—developing biological weapons, for instance—the company says guardrails built into AI models themselves should prevent bad actors from taking advantage of the new standard for nefarious ends.

“The impetus is wanting to accelerate science,” says Alek Kemeny, a quantum physicist who co-led the development. “How do we close the loop between accelerating literature review and data analysis—and bring that power to the experimental world?”

Claude and other chatbots are already powerful tools for combing through large amounts of information in the form of scientific papers or experimental results to uncover new insights and ideas. AI agents are widely considered the next step after chatbots: They’re designed to take actions, often on ordinary computers, doing things like answering emails.

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