Can The Federal Government Manage AI? Biden Administration Invests $140 Million In AI Research Centers To Promote Private Sector Collaboration

In the latest move that reflects artificial intelligence's (AI) transformative societal effects, The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced a $140 million investment in seven new AI research institutes. 

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The institutes will focus on a variety of AI-related topics, such as machine learning, computer vision and natural language processing. The goal of the investments is to advance the field of AI and make it more accessible to industries and individuals across the United States.

Research Centers At Top Universities

Top universities across the country will host the research centers, including the University of Oklahoma, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Texas at Austin. Each institute will receive funding for five years to allow for collaborative research among several fields, including computer science, engineering and psychology.

The NSF's plan for the research institutes is to accelerate the development and deployment of AI technologies in various industries, such as healthcare, manufacturing and transportation. By bringing together experts from a variety of disciplines and locations, the NSF hopes to improve the beneficial aspects of AI, address societal concerns and make the technology more accessible to people and industries. 

The federal government's launch of these centers reflects its authority to protect people from the potential dangers of AI and hold companies accountable to ethical standards and employ safeguards for AI development. The seven centers ideally will increase collaboration between academia, the government and the private sector so they can tackle pressing problems such as climate change and healthcare using the power of AI. 

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As part of the increased private sector and government collaboration, the federal government also announced it obtained commitments from several leading companies, including Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., NVIDIA Corp. and others. These commitments include offering the firms' AI tools for public evaluation at DEF CON 31, the annual hacking and cybersecurity conference. This will provide opportunities for attendees to investigate the AI tools and provide some consensus about needed safeguards and ethics-based adjustments for AI. 

Many of these companies are leading the charge on AI, subsequently resulting in substantial boosts to their stock prices. NVIDIA's stock gained $200 billion in market capitalization in the past week, with a 25% increase in stock price due to AI-related news. In the startups sector, companies are seeing similar traction. For example, AtomBeam is one of the largest raises on the popular startup investing platform, StartEngine. AtomBeam uses AI to compact data by up to 75%.  

In another move to improve collaboration with AI providers, Vice President Kamala Harris met with the CEOs of various tech giants to discuss the risks of AI. They talked about the ways firms can advance innovation responsibly and protect Americans from potential harm while also harnessing the powers of AI to improve the world. Additionally, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will provide guidance to federal agencies on the use of ChatGPT and other AI tools by federal employees. 

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