National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020
This bill establishes the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative and sets forth related activities.
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) shall establish or designate the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office to carry out the responsibilities described in this bill with respect to the initiative.
The National Science and Technology Council shall establish or designate an Interagency Committee to coordinate federal programs and activities in support of the initiative.
The Department of Energy (DOE) shall establish the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee to advise the President and the Initiative Office on matters related to the initiative. DOE must also carry out an artificial intelligence research and development program to (1) advance artificial intelligence tools, systems, capabilities, and workforce needs; and (2) improve the reliability of artificial intelligence methods and solutions relevant to DOE's mission.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) shall enter into a contract with the National Research Council of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study of the current and future impact of artificial intelligence on the workforce of the United States.
The General Accountability Office shall conduct a study of artificial intelligence computer hardware and computing required in order to maintain U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence research and development.
The NSF shall establish a program to award financial assistance to eligible entities or their consortia to establish and support Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology shall develop voluntary standards for artificial intelligence systems, among other things.
The NSF shall fund research and education activities in artificial intelligence systems and related fields.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6216 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6216
To establish the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 12, 2020
Ms. Johnson of Texas (for herself, Mr. Lucas, Mr. McNerney, Mr. Olson,
Mr. Lipinski, and Mr. Weber of Texas) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``National
Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I--NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INITIATIVE
Sec. 101. National Artificial Intelligence Initiative.
Sec. 102. National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office.
Sec. 103. Coordination by Interagency Committee.
Sec. 104. National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee.
Sec. 105. National Academies artificial intelligence impact study on
workforce.
Sec. 106. GAO report on computational needs.
TITLE II--NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH INSTITUTES
Sec. 201. National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes.
TITLE III--NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES
Sec. 301. National Institute of Standards and Technology activities.
TITLE IV--NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ACTIVITIES
Sec. 401. Artificial intelligence research and education.
TITLE V--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH PROGRAM
Sec. 501. Department of Energy Artificial Intelligence Research
Program.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Artificial intelligence is a tool that has the
potential to change and possibly transform every sector of the
United States economy and society.
(2) The Federal Government should continue to play an
important role advancing research, development, standards, and
education activities in artificial intelligence through
coordination and collaboration between government, academia,
and the private sector to leverage the intellectual, physical,
and digital resources of each stakeholder.
(3) The Federal Government lacks clear understanding of the
capabilities of artificial intelligence and its potential to
affect various social and economic sectors, including ethical
concerns, national security implications, and workforce
impacts.
(4) Researchers from academia, Federal laboratories, and
much of the private sector have limited access to many high-
quality datasets, computing resources, or real-world testing
environments to design and deploy safe and trustworthy
artificial intelligence systems.
(5) There is a lack of standards and benchmarking for
artificial intelligence systems that academia and the public
and private sectors can use to evaluate the performance of
these systems before and after deployment.
(6) Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming a
highly interdisciplinary field with expertise required from a
diverse range of scientific and other scholarly disciplines
that traditionally work independently and continue to face
cultural and institutional barriers to large scale
collaboration.
(7) Current Federal investments and funding mechanisms are
largely insufficient to incentivize and support the large-scale
interdisciplinary and public-private collaborations that will
be required to advance trustworthy artificial intelligence
systems in the United States.
(8) The United States education pipeline for artificial
intelligence fields faces significant challenges. Not only does
the artificial intelligence research field lack the gender and
racial diversity of the American population as a whole, but it
is failing to both retain researchers and adequately support
educators to meet the demands of the next generation of
students studying artificial intelligence.
(9) In order to help drive forward advances in trustworthy
artificial intelligence across all sectors and to the benefit
of all Americans, the Federal Government must provide
sufficient resources and use its convening power to facilitate
the growth of artificial intelligence human capital, research,
and innovation capacity in academia and other nonprofit
research organizations, companies of all sizes and across all
sectors, and within the Federal Government.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Advisory committee.--The term ``Advisory Committee''
means the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee
established under section 104(a).
(2) Agency head.--The term ``agency head'' means the head
of any Executive agency (as defined in section 105 of title 5,
United States Code) other than the Department of Defense.
(3) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial
intelligence'' means a machine-based system that can, for a
given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions,
recommendations or decisions influencing real or virtual
environments. Artificial intelligence systems use machine and
human-based inputs to--
(A) perceive real and virtual environments;
(B) abstract such perceptions into models through
analysis in an automated manner; and
(C) use model inference to formulate options for
information or action.
(4) Initiative.--The term ``Initiative'' means the National
Artificial Intelligence Initiative established under section
101(a).
(5) Initiative office.--The term ``Initiative Office''
means the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office
established under section 102(a).
(6) Institute.--The term ``Institute'' means an Artificial
Intelligence Research Institute described in section 201(b)(1).
(7) Interagency committee.--The term ``Interagency
Committee'' means the interagency committee established under
section 103(a).
(8) K-12 education.--The term ``K-12 education'' means
elementary school and secondary education, as such terms are
defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(9) Machine learning.--The term ``machine learning'' means
an application of artificial intelligence that is characterized
by providing systems the ability to automatically learn and
improve on the basis of data or experience, without being
explicitly programmed.
TITLE I--NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INITIATIVE
SEC. 101. NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INITIATIVE.
(a) Establishment; Purposes.--The President shall establish and
implement an initiative to be known as the ``National Artificial
Intelligence Initiative''. The purposes of the Initiative shall be to--
(1) ensure continued United States leadership in artificial
intelligence research and development;
(2) lead the world in the development and use of
trustworthy artificial intelligence systems in the public and
private sectors;
(3) maximize the benefits of artificial intelligence
systems for all American people; and
(4) prepare the present and future United States workforce
for the integration of artificial intelligence systems across
all sectors of the economy and society.
(b) Initiative Activities.--In carrying out the Initiative, the
President, acting through the Initiative Office, the Interagency
Committee, and agency heads as the President considers appropriate,
shall carry out activities that include the following:
(1) Sustained, consistent, and coordinated support for
artificial intelligence research and development through
grants, cooperative agreements, testbeds, and access to data
and computing resources.
(2) Support for the development of voluntary standards,
best practices, and benchmarks for the development and use of
trustworthy artificial intelligence systems.
(3) Support for educational programs at all levels, in both
formal and informal learning environments, to prepare the
American workforce and the general public to be able to use and
interact with artificial intelligence systems, as well as adapt
to the potentially transformative impact of artificial
intelligence on society and the economy.
(4) Support for interdisciplinary research, education, and
training programs for students and researchers that promote
learning in the methods and systems used in artificial
intelligence and foster interdisciplinary perspectives and
collaborations among subject matter experts in relevant fields,
including computer science, mathematics, statistics,
engineering, social sciences, psychology, behavioral science,
ethics, security, legal scholarship, and other disciplines that
will be necessary to advance artificial intelligence research
and development responsibly.
(5) Support for partnerships to leverage knowledge,
computing resources, access to open datasets, and other
resources from industry, government, nonprofit organizations,
Federal laboratories, State programs, and institutions of
higher education to advance activities under the Initiative.
(6) Interagency planning and coordination of Federal
artificial intelligence research, development, demonstration,
standards engagement, and other activities under the
Initiative.
(7) Outreach to diverse stakeholders, including citizen
groups and industry, to ensure public input is taken into
account in the activities of the Initiative.
(8) Leveraging existing Federal investments to advance
objectives of the Initiative.
(9) Support for a network of interdisciplinary artificial
intelligence research institutes, as described in section
201(b)(7)(B).
(10) Support opportunities for international cooperation
with strategic allies, as appropriate, on the research and
development, assessment, and resources for trustworthy
artificial intelligence systems and the development of
voluntary consensus standards for those systems.
SEC. 102. NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INITIATIVE OFFICE.
(a) In General.--The Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy shall establish or designate, and appoint a director
of, an office to be known as the ``National Artificial Intelligence
Initiative Office'' to carry out the responsibilities described in
subsection (b) with respect to the Initiative. The Initiative Office
shall have sufficient staff to carry out such responsibilities,
including staff detailed from the Federal departments and agencies
described in section 103(c).
(b) Responsibilities.--The Director of the Initiative Office
shall--
(1) provide technical and administrative support to the
Interagency Committee and the Advisory Committee;
(2) serve as the point of contact on Federal artificial
intelligence activities for Federal departments and agencies,
industry, academia, nonprofit organizations, professional
societies, State governments, and such other persons as the
Initiative Office considers appropriate to exchange technical
and programmatic information;
(3) conduct regular public outreach to diverse
stakeholders, including through the convening of conferences
and educational events, the publication of information about
significant Initiative activities on a publicly available
website, and the dissemination of findings and recommendations
of the Advisory Committee, as appropriate; and
(4) promote access to and early adoption of the
technologies, innovations, lessons learned, and expertise
derived from Initiative activities to agency missions and
systems across the Federal Government, and to industry,
including startup companies.
(c) Funding Estimate.--The Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy shall develop an estimate of the funds necessary to
carry out the activities of the Initiative Coordination Office,
including an estimate of how much each participating Federal department
and agency described in section 103(c) will contribute to such funds,
and submit such estimate to Congress not later than 90 days after the
enactment of this Act. The Director shall update this estimate each
year based on participating agency investments in artificial
intelligence.
SEC. 103. COORDINATION BY INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.
(a) Interagency Committee.--The Director of the Office of Science
and Technology Policy, acting through the National Science and
Technology Council, shall establish or designate an Interagency
Committee to coordinate Federal programs and activities in support of
the Initiative.
(b) Co-Chairs.--The Interagency Committee shall be co-chaired by
the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and, on an
annual rotating basis, a representative from the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation, or the
Department of Energy, as selected by the Director of the Office of
Science and Technology Policy.
(c) Agency Participation.--The Committee shall include
representatives from--
(1) the National Institute of Standards and Technology;
(2) the National Science Foundation;
(3) the Department of Energy;
(4) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
(5) the Department of Defense;
(6) the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency;
(7) the Department of Commerce;
(8) the Office of the Director of National Intelligence;
(9) the Office of Management and Budget;
(10) the Office of Science and Technology Policy;
(11) the Department of Health and Human Services;
(12) the Department of Education;
(13) the Department of Labor;
(14) the Department of the Treasury;
(15) the General Services Administration;
(16) the Department of Transportation;
(17) the Department of State;
(18) the Department of Veterans Affairs; and
(19) any other Federal agency as considered appropriate by
the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
(d) Responsibilities.--The Interagency Committee shall--
(1) provide for interagency coordination of Federal
artificial intelligence research, development, and
demonstration activities, development of voluntary consensus
standards and guidelines for research, development, testing,
and adoption of ethically developed, safe, and trustworthy
artificial intelligence systems, and education and training
activities and programs of Federal departments and agencies
undertaken pursuant to the Initiative;
(2) not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, develop a strategic plan for artificial
intelligence (to be updated not less than every 3 years) that--
(A) establishes goals, priorities, and metrics for
guiding and evaluating the Initiative's activities; and
(B) describes how the agencies carrying out the
Initiative will--
(i) determine and prioritize areas of
artificial intelligence research, development,
and demonstration requiring Federal Government
leadership and investment;
(ii) support long-term funding for
interdisciplinary artificial intelligence
research, development, demonstration, education
and public outreach activities;
(iii) support research and other activities
on ethical, legal, environmental, safety,
security, and other appropriate societal issues
related to artificial intelligence;
(iv) provide or facilitate the availability
of curated, standardized, secure,
representative, and privacy-protected data sets
for artificial intelligence research and
development;
(v) provide or facilitate the necessary
computing, networking, and data facilities for
artificial intelligence research and
development;
(vi) reduce barriers to transferring
artificial intelligence systems from the
laboratory into application for the benefit of
society and United States competitiveness;
(vii) support and coordinate the network of
artificial intelligence research institutes
described in section 201(b)(7)(B); and
(viii) in consultation with the Council of
Economic Advisers, measure and track the
contributions of artificial intelligence to
United States economic growth and other
societal indicators;
(3) propose an annually coordinated interagency budget for
the Initiative to the Office of Management and Budget that is
intended to ensure that the balance of funding across the
Initiative is sufficient to meet the goals and priorities
established for the Initiative; and
(4) in carrying out this section, take into consideration
the recommendations of the Advisory Committee, existing reports
on related topics, and the views of academic, State, industry,
and other appropriate groups.
(e) Annual Report.--For each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year
2022, not later than 90 days after submission of the President's annual
budget request for such fiscal year, the Interagency Committee shall
prepare and submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation of the Senate a report that includes--
(1) a summarized budget in support of the Initiative for
such fiscal year and the preceding fiscal year, including a
disaggregation of spending for each Federal agency
participating in the Initiative and for the development and
acquisition of any research facilities and instrumentation; and
(2) an assessment of how Federal agencies are implementing
the plan described in subsection (d)(2), and a description of
those efforts.
SEC. 104. NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy shall, in consultation
with the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy,
establish an advisory committee to be known as the ``National
Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee''.
(b) Qualifications.--The Advisory Committee shall consist of
members, appointed by the Secretary of Energy, who are representing
broad and interdisciplinary expertise and perspectives, including from
academic institutions, companies across diverse sectors, nonprofit and
civil society entities, and Federal laboratories, that are qualified to
provide advice and information on science and technology research,
development, ethics, standards, education, technology transfer,
commercial application, security, and economic competitiveness related
to artificial intelligence.
(c) Membership Consideration.--In selecting the members of the
Advisory Committee, the Secretary of Energy may seek and give
consideration to recommendations from the Congress, industry, nonprofit
organizations, the scientific community (including the National Academy
of Sciences, scientific professional societies, and academic
institutions), the defense community, and other appropriate
organizations.
(d) Duties.--The Advisory Committee shall advise the President and
the Initiative Office on matters related to the Initiative, including
recommendations related to--
(1) the current state of United States competitiveness and
leadership in artificial intelligence, including the scope and
scale of United States investments in artificial intelligence
research and development in the international context;
(2) the progress made in implementing the Initiative,
including a review of the degree to which the Initiative has
achieved the goals under the metrics established by the
Interagency Committee under section 103(d)(2);
(3) the state of the science around artificial
intelligence, including progress towards artificial general
intelligence;
(4) the need to update the Initiative;
(5) the balance of activities and funding across the
Initiative;
(6) whether the strategic plan developed or updated by the
Interagency Committee established under section 103(d)(2) is
helping to maintain United States leadership in artificial
intelligence;
(7) the management, coordination, and activities of the
Initiative;
(8) whether ethical, legal, safety, security, and other
appropriate societal issues are adequately addressed by the
Initiative; and
(9) opportunities for international cooperation with
strategic allies on artificial intelligence research activities
and standards development.
(e) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, and not less frequently than once every 3 years
thereafter, the Advisory Committee shall submit to the President, the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate, a report on the Advisory Committee's
findings and recommendations under subsection (d).
(f) Travel Expenses of Non-Federal Members.--Non-Federal members of
the Advisory Committee, while attending meetings of the Advisory
Committee or while otherwise serving at the request of the head of the
Advisory Committee away from their homes or regular places of business,
may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of
subsistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States
Code, for individuals in the Government serving without pay. Nothing in
this subsection shall be construed to prohibit members of the Advisory
Committee who are officers or employees of the United States from being
allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in
accordance with existing law.
(g) FACA Exemption.--The Secretary of Energy shall charter the
Advisory Committee in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (5 U.S.C. App.), except that the Advisory Committee shall be exempt
from section 14 of such Act.
SEC. 105. NATIONAL ACADEMIES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IMPACT STUDY ON
WORKFORCE.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the National Science Foundation shall enter into
a contract with the National Research Council of the National Academies
of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study of the
current and future impact of artificial intelligence on the workforce
of the United States across sectors.
(b) Contents.--The study shall address--
(1) workforce impacts across sectors caused by the
increased adoption of artificial intelligence, automation, and
other related trends;
(2) workforce needs and employment opportunities generated
by the increased adoption of artificial intelligence across
sectors;
(3) research gaps and data needed to better understand and
track both workforce impacts and workforce needs and
opportunities generated by adoption of artificial intelligence
systems across sectors; and
(4) recommendations to address the challenges and
opportunities described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).
(c) Stakeholders.--In conducting the study, the National Academies
of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine shall seek input from a wide
range of stakeholders in the public and private sectors.
(d) Report to Congress.--The contract entered into under subsection
(a) shall require the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine, not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act, to--
(1) submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and
Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report
containing the findings and recommendations of the study
conducted under subsection (a); and
(2) make a copy of such report available on a publicly
accessible website.
SEC. 106. GAO REPORT ON COMPUTATIONAL NEEDS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study of artificial intelligence computer hardware and
computing required in order to maintain U.S. leadership in artificial
intelligence research and development. The Comptroller General shall--
(1) assess the composition of civilian computing resources
supported by the Federal Government at universities and Federal
Laboratories, including programs with laboratory computing,
high performance computing, cloud computing, quantum computing,
edge computing, and other computing resources;
(2) evaluate projected needs for computing consumption and
performance required by the public and private sector for the
training, auditing, validation, testing, and use of artificial
intelligence over the next five years; and
(3) offer recommendations to meet these projected needs.
TITLE II--NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH INSTITUTES
SEC. 201. NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH INSTITUTES.
(a) In General.--As part of the Initiative, the Director of the
National Science Foundation shall establish a program to award
financial assistance for the planning, establishment, and support of
Institutes (as described in subsection (b)(2)) in accordance with this
section.
(b) Financial Assistance To Establish and Support National
Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes.--
(1) In general.--Under the Initiative, the Secretary of
Energy, the Secretary of Commerce, the Director of the National
Science Foundation, and every other agency head may award
financial assistance to an eligible entity, or consortia
thereof, as determined by an agency head, to establish and
support an Institute.
(2) Artificial intelligence institutes.--An Institute
described in this subsection is an artificial intelligence
research institute that--
(A) is focused on--
(i) a particular economic or social sector,
including health, education, manufacturing,
agriculture, security, energy, and environment,
and includes a component that addresses the
ethical, societal, safety, and security
implications relevant to the application of
artificial intelligence in that sector; or
(ii) a cross-cutting challenge for
artificial intelligence systems, including
trustworthiness, or foundational science;
(B) requires partnership among public and private
organizations, including, as appropriate, Federal
agencies, research universities, community colleges,
nonprofit research organizations, Federal laboratories,
State, local, and tribal governments, and industry (or
consortia thereof);
(C) has the potential to create an innovation
ecosystem, or enhance existing ecosystems, to translate
Institute research into applications and products, as
appropriate to the topic of each Institute;
(D) supports interdisciplinary research and
development across multiple institutions and
organizations involved in artificial intelligence
research and related disciplines, including physics,
engineering, mathematical sciences, computer and
information science, robotics, biological and cognitive
sciences, material science, social and behavioral
sciences, cybersecurity, and technology ethics;
(E) supports interdisciplinary education
activities, including curriculum development, research
experiences, and faculty professional development
across two-year, undergraduates, masters, and doctoral
level programs; and
(F) supports workforce development in artificial
intelligence related disciplines in the United States,
including broadening participation of underrepresented
communities.
(3) Use of funds.--Financial assistance awarded under
paragraph (1) may be used by an Institute for--
(A) managing and making available to researchers
accessible, curated, standardized, secure, and privacy
protected data sets from the public and private sectors
for the purposes of training and testing artificial
intelligence systems and for research using artificial
intelligence systems, pursuant to section 301(b) and
301(c);
(B) developing and managing testbeds for artificial
intelligence systems, including sector-specific test
beds, designed to enable users to evaluate artificial
intelligence systems prior to deployment;
(C) conducting research and education activities
involving artificial intelligence systems to solve
challenges with social, economic, health, scientific,
and national security implications;
(D) providing or brokering access to computing
resources, networking, and data facilities for
artificial intelligence research and development
relevant to the Institute's research goals;
(E) providing technical assistance to users,
including software engineering support, for artificial
intelligence research and development relevant to the
Institute's research goals;
(F) engaging in outreach and engagement to broaden
participation in artificial intelligence research and
workforce; and
(G) such other activities that an agency head,
whose agency's missions contribute to or are affected
by artificial intelligence, considers consistent with
the purposes described in section 101(a).
(4) Duration.--
(A) Initial periods.--An award of financial
assistance under paragraph (1) shall be awarded for an
initial period of 5 years.
(B) Extension.--An established Institute may apply
for, and the agency head may grant, extended funding
for periods of 5 years on a merit-reviewed basis using
the merit review criteria of the sponsoring agency.
(5) Application for financial assistance.--
(A) In general.--A person or group of persons
seeking financial assistance under paragraph (1) shall
submit to an agency head an application at such time,
in such manner, and containing such information as the
agency head may require.
(B) Requirements.--An application submitted under
subparagraph (A) for an Institute shall, at a minimum,
include the following:
(i) A plan for the Institute to include--
(I) the proposed goals and
activities of the Institute;
(II) how the Institute will form
partnerships with other research
institutions, industry, and nonprofits
to leverage expertise in artificial
intelligence and access to data,
including non-governmental data and
computing resources;
(III) how the institute will
support long-term and short-term
education and workforce development in
artificial intelligence, including
broadening participation of
underrepresented communities; and
(IV) a plan for how the Institute
will transition from planning into
operations.
(ii) A description of the anticipated
sources and nature of any non-Federal
contributions, including privately held data
sets, computing resources, and other types of
in-kind support.
(iii) A description of the anticipated
long-term impact of such Institute.
(6) Competitive, merit review.--In awarding financial
assistance under paragraph (1), the agency head shall--
(A) use a competitive, merit review process that
includes peer review by a diverse group of individuals
with relevant expertise from both the private and
public sectors; and
(B) ensure the focus areas of the Institute do not
substantially duplicate the efforts of any other
Institute.
(7) Collaboration.--
(A) In general.--In awarding financial assistance
under paragraph (1), an agency head may collaborate
with Federal departments and agencies whose missions
contribute to or are affected by artificial
intelligence systems, including the agencies outlined
in section 103(c).
(B) Coordinating network.--The Director of the
National Science Foundation shall establish a network
of Institutes receiving financial assistance under this
subsection, to be known as the ``Artificial
Intelligence Leadership Network'', to coordinate cross-
cutting research and other activities carried out by
the Institutes.
(C) Funding.--The head of an agency may request,
accept, and provide funds from other Federal
departments and agencies, State, United States
territory, local, or tribal government agencies,
private sector for-profit entities, and nonprofit
entities, to be available to the extent provided by
appropriations Acts, to support an Institute's
activities. The head of an agency may not give any
special consideration to any agency or entity in return
for a donation.
TITLE III--NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES
SEC. 301. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES.
(a) In General.--As part of the Initiative, the Director of the
National Institute of Standards and Technology shall--
(1) support measurement research and development of best
practices and voluntary standards for trustworthy artificial
intelligence systems, including for--
(A) privacy and security, including for datasets
used to train or test artificial intelligence systems
and software and hardware used in artificial
intelligence systems;
(B) advanced computer chips and hardware designed
for artificial intelligence systems;
(C) data management and techniques to increase the
usability of data, including strategies to
systematically clean, label, and standardize data into
forms useful for training artificial intelligence
systems and the use of common, open licenses;
(D) safety and robustness of artificial
intelligence systems, including assurance,
verification, validation, security, control, and the
ability for artificial intelligence systems to
withstand unexpected inputs and adversarial attacks;
(E) auditing mechanisms and benchmarks for
accuracy, transparency, verifiability, and safety
assurance for artificial intelligence systems;
(F) applications of machine learning and artificial
intelligence systems to improve other scientific fields
and engineering; and
(G) all other areas deemed by the Director to be
critical to the development and deployment of
trustworthy artificial intelligence;
(2) produce curated, standardized, representative, secure,
and privacy protected data sets for artificial intelligence
research, development, and use, prioritizing data for high-
value, high-risk research;
(3) support one or more institutes as described in section
201(a) of this Act for the purpose of advancing the field of
artificial intelligence;
(4) support and strategically engage in the development of
voluntary consensus standards, including international
standards, through open, transparent, and consensus-based
processes; and
(5) enter into and perform such contracts, including
cooperative research and development arrangements and grants
and cooperative agreements or other transactions, as may be
necessary in the conduct of the work of the National Institute
of Standards and Technology and on such terms as the Director
considers appropriate, in furtherance of the purposes of this
Act.
(b) Risk Management Framework.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall work to develop,
and periodically update, in collaboration with other public and private
sector organizations, including the National Science Foundation and the
Department of Energy, a voluntary risk management framework for the
trustworthiness of artificial intelligence systems. The framework
shall--
(1) identify and provide standards, guidelines, best
practices, methodologies, procedures, and processes for
assessing the trustworthiness of, and mitigating risks to,
artificial intelligence systems;
(2) establish common definitions and characterizations for
aspects and levels of trustworthiness, including
explainability, transparency, safety, privacy, security,
robustness, fairness, bias, ethics, validation, verification,
and other properties related to artificial intelligence systems
that are common across all sectors;
(3) provide guidance and implementation steps for risk
management of artificial intelligence systems;
(4) provide sector-specific case studies of implementation
of the framework;
(5) align with voluntary consensus standards, including
international standards, to the fullest extent possible;
(6) incorporate voluntary consensus standards and industry
best practices; and
(7) not prescribe or otherwise require--
(A) the use of specific solutions; or
(B) the use of specific information or
communications technology products or services.
(c) Data Sharing Best Practices.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall, in collaboration
with other public and private sector organizations, develop guidance to
facilitate the creation of voluntary data sharing arrangements between
industry, federally funded research centers, and Federal agencies for
the purpose of advancing artificial intelligence research and
technologies, including--
(1) options for partnership models between government
entities, industry, universities, and nonprofits that
incentivize each party to share the data they collected; and
(2) best practices for datasets involving human
characteristics, including--
(A) standards for metadata that describe the
properties of datasets, including--
(i) how the data was collected;
(ii) what populations are included and
excluded from the datasets; and
(iii) any other properties as determined by
the Director; and
(B) standards for privacy and security of datasets
with human characteristics.
(d) Stakeholder Outreach.--In carrying out the activities under
this subsection, the Director shall--
(1) solicit input from university researchers, private
sector experts, relevant Federal agencies, Federal
laboratories, State and local governments, civil society
groups, and other relevant stakeholders;
(2) solicit input from experts in relevant fields of social
science, technology ethics, and law; and
(3) provide opportunity for public comment on guidelines
and best practices developed as part of the Initiative, as
appropriate.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the National Institute of Standards and Technology to
carry out this subsection--
(1) $64,000,000 for fiscal year 2021;
(2) $70,400,000 for fiscal year 2022;
(3) $77,440,000 for fiscal year 2023;
(4) $85,180,000 for fiscal year 2024; and
(5) $93,700,000 for fiscal year 2025.
TITLE IV--NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ACTIVITIES
SEC. 401. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION.
(a) In General.--As part of the Initiative, the Director of the
National Science Foundation shall fund research and education
activities in artificial intelligence systems and related fields,
including competitive awards or grants to institutions of higher
education or eligible nonprofit organizations (or consortia thereof).
(b) Uses of Funds.--In carrying out the activities under subsection
(a), the Director of the National Science Foundation shall--
(1) support research, including interdisciplinary research
on artificial intelligence systems and related areas;
(2) support collaborations among researchers across
disciplines, including between social scientists and computer
and data scientists, to advance research critical to the
development and deployment of trustworthy artificial
intelligence systems, including support for interdisciplinary
research relating advances in artificial intelligence to
changes in the future workplace, in a social and economic
context;
(3) use the existing programs of the National Science
Foundation, in collaboration with other Federal departments and
agencies, as appropriate to--
(A) improve the teaching and learning of artificial
intelligence systems at all levels of education; and
(B) increase participation in artificial
intelligence related fields, including by individuals
identified in sections 33 and 34 of the Science and
Engineering Equal Opportunity Act (42 U.S.C. 1885a,
1885b);
(4) engage with institutions of higher education, research
communities, industry, Federal laboratories, nonprofit
organizations, State and local governments, and potential users
of information produced under this section, including through
the convening of workshops and conferences, to leverage the
collective body of knowledge across disciplines relevant to
artificial intelligence, facilitate new collaborations and
partnerships, and identify emerging research needs;
(5) support partnerships among institutions of higher
education and industry that facilitate collaborative research,
personnel exchanges, and workforce development with respect to
artificial intelligence systems;
(6) ensure adequate access to research and education
infrastructure with respect to artificial intelligence systems,
including through the development of new computing resources
and partnership with the private sector for the provision of
cloud-based computing services;
(7) conduct prize competitions, as appropriate, pursuant to
section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of
1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719);
(8) coordinate research efforts funded through existing
programs across the directorates of the National Science
Foundation;
(9) provide guidance on data sharing by grantees to public
and private sector organizations consistent with the standards
and guidelines developed under section 301(c); and
(10) evaluate opportunities for international collaboration
with strategic allies on artificial intelligence research and
development.
(c) Artificial Intelligence Research Grants.--
(1) In general.--The Director shall award grants for
research on artificial intelligence systems. Research areas may
include--
(A) artificial intelligence systems, including
machine learning, computer vision, robotics, and
hardware for accelerating artificial intelligence
systems;
(B) artificial intelligence-enabled systems;
(C) fields and research areas that will contribute
to the advancement of artificial intelligence systems,
including information theory, causal and statistical
inference, data mining, information extraction, human-
robot interaction, and intelligent interfaces;
(D) fields and research areas that increase
understanding of human characteristics relevant to
artificial intelligence systems, including
computational neuroscience, reasoning and
representation, speech and language, multi-agent
systems, intelligent interfaces, human-artificial
intelligence cooperation, and artificial intelligence-
augmented human problem solving;
(E) fields and research areas that increase
understanding of learning, adaptability, and resilience
beyond the human cognitive model, including topics in
developmental biology, zoology, botany, morphological
computation, and organismal systems;
(F) fields and research areas that will contribute
to the development and deployment of trustworthy
artificial intelligence systems, including--
(i) algorithmic explainability;
(ii) methods to assess, characterize, and
reduce bias in datasets and artificial
intelligence systems; and
(iii) safety and robustness of artificial
intelligence systems, including assurance,
verification, validation, security, and
control;
(G) privacy and security, including for datasets
used for the training and inference of artificial
intelligence systems, and software and hardware used in
artificial intelligence systems;
(H) fields and research areas that address the
application of artificial intelligence systems to
scientific discovery and societal challenges;
(I) societal, ethical, safety, education,
workforce, and security implications of artificial
intelligence systems, including social impact of
artificial intelligence systems on different groups
within society, especially historically marginalized
groups; and
(J) qualitative and quantitative forecasting of
future capabilities, applications, and impacts.
(2) Engineering support.--In soliciting proposals for
funding under this section, the Director shall permit
applicants to include in their proposed budgets funding for
software engineering support to assist with the proposed
research.
(3) Ethics.--
(A) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress
that--
(i) a number of emerging areas of research,
including artificial intelligence, have
potential ethical, social, safety, and security
implications that might be apparent as early as
the basic research stage;
(ii) the incorporation of ethical, social,
safety, and security considerations into the
research design and review process for Federal
awards may help mitigate potential harms before
they happen;
(iii) the National Science Foundation's
intent to enter into an agreement with the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering,
and Medicine to conduct a study and make
recommendations with respect to governance of
research in emerging technologies is a positive
step toward accomplishing this goal; and
(iv) the National Science Foundation should
continue to work with stakeholders to
understand and adopt policies that promote best
practices for governance of research in
emerging technologies at every stage of
research.
(B) Ethics statements.--
(i) In general.--Not later than 18 months
after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Director shall amend grant proposal
instructions to include a requirement for an
ethics statement to be included as part of any
proposal for funding prior to making the award.
Such statement shall be considered by the
Director in the review of proposals, taking
into consideration any relevant input from the
peer-reviewers for the proposal, and shall
factor into award decisions as deemed necessary
by the Director.
(ii) Contents.--Such statements may
include, as appropriate--
(I) the potential societal benefits
of the research;
(II) any foreseeable or
quantifiable risks to society,
including how the research could enable
products, technologies, or other
outcomes that could intentionally or
unintentionally cause significant
societal harm; and
(III) how technical or social
solutions can mitigate such risks and,
as appropriate, a plan to implement
such mitigation measures.
(iii) Guidance.--The Director shall issue
clear guidance on what constitutes a
foreseeable or quantifiable risk described in
clause (ii)(II), and to the extent practical
harmonize this policy with existing ethical
policies or related requirements for human
subjects.
(iv) Annual reports.--The Director shall
encourage grantees to update their ethics
statements as appropriate as part of the annual
reports required by all grantees under the
grant terms and conditions.
(d) Education.--
(1) In general.--The Director of the National Science
Foundation shall award grants for education programs at the K-
12, community college, undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral,
adult learning, and retraining stages of education that--
(A) support the development of a diverse workforce
pipeline for science and technology with respect to
artificial intelligence systems;
(B) increase awareness of ethical, social, safety,
and security implications of artificial intelligence
systems; and
(C) promote the widespread understanding of
artificial intelligence principles and methods to
create an educated workforce and general public able to
use products enabled by artificial intelligence systems
and adapt to future societal and economic changes
caused by artificial intelligence systems.
(2) Use of funds.--Grants awarded under this section for
education activities referred to in paragraph (1) may be used
for--
(A) K-12, undergraduate, and community college
curriculum development and other educational tools and
methods in artificial intelligence related fields;
(B) curriculum development in the field of
technology ethics;
(C) support for informal education activities for
K-12 students to engage with artificial intelligence
systems;
(D) efforts to achieve equitable access to K-12
artificial intelligence education for populations and
geographic areas traditionally underrepresented in the
artificial intelligence field;
(E) training and professional development programs,
including innovative pre-service and in-service
programs, in artificial intelligence and related fields
for K-12 teachers;
(F) efforts to improve the retention rate for
researchers focusing on artificial intelligence systems
at institutions of higher learning and other nonprofit
research institutions;
(G) outreach programs to educate the general public
about the uses of artificial intelligence and its
societal implications;
(H) assessments of activities conducted under this
subsection; and
(I) any other relevant activities the Director
determines will accomplish the aim described in
paragraph (1).
(3) Artificial intelligence traineeships and fellowships.--
(A) Artificial intelligence traineeships.--
(i) In general.--The Director of the
National Science Foundation shall award grants
to institutions of higher education to
establish traineeship programs for graduate
students who pursue artificial intelligence-
related research leading to a masters or
doctorate degree by providing funding and other
assistance, and by providing graduate students
opportunities for research experiences in
government or industry related to the students'
artificial intelligence studies.
(ii) Use of funds.--An institution of
higher education shall use grant funds provided
under clause (i) for the purposes of--
(I) providing traineeships to
students who are pursuing research in
artificial intelligence leading to a
masters or doctorate degree;
(II) paying tuition and fees for
students receiving traineeships who are
citizens, nationals, or lawfully
admitted permanent resident aliens of
the United States;
(III) creating and requiring
courses or training programs in
technology ethics for students
receiving traineeships;
(IV) creating opportunities for
research in technology ethics for
students receiving traineeships;
(V) establishing scientific
internship programs for students
receiving traineeships in artificial
intelligence at for-profit
institutions, nonprofit research
institutions, or government
laboratories; and
(VI) other costs associated with
the administration of the program.
(B) Artificial intelligence fellowships.--The
Director of the National Science Foundation shall award
fellowships to masters and doctoral students and
postdoctoral researchers at institutions of higher
education who are pursuing degrees or research in
artificial intelligence and related fields, including
in the field of technology ethics. In making such
awards, the Director shall--
(i) ensure recipients of artificial
intelligence fellowships are citizens,
nationals, or lawfully admitted permanent
resident aliens of the United States; and
(ii) conduct outreach, including through
formal solicitations, to solicit proposals from
students and postdoctoral researchers seeking
to carry out research in aspects of technology
ethics with relevance to artificial
intelligence systems.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the National Science Foundation to carry out this
section--
(1) $868,000,000 for fiscal year 2021;
(2) $911,400,000 for fiscal year 2022;
(3) $956,970,000 for fiscal year 2023;
(4) $1,004,820,000 for fiscal year 2024; and
(5) $1,055,060,000 for fiscal year 2025.
TITLE V--DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH PROGRAM
SEC. 501. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH
PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a cross-cutting
research and development program to advance artificial intelligence
tools, systems, capabilities, and workforce needs and to improve the
reliability of artificial intelligence methods and solutions relevant
to the mission of the Department. In carrying out this program, the
Secretary shall coordinate across all relevant offices and programs at
the Department, including the Office of Science, the Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Office of Nuclear Energy, the
Office of Fossil Energy, the Office of Electricity, the Office of
Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, the Advanced
Research Projects Agency-Energy, and any other relevant office
determined by the Secretary.
(b) Research Areas.--In carrying out the program under subsection
(a), the Secretary shall award financial assistance to eligible
entities to carry out research projects on topics including--
(1) the application of artificial intelligence systems to
improve large-scale simulations of natural and other phenomena;
(2) the study of applied mathematics, computer science, and
statistics, including foundations of methods and systems of
artificial intelligence, causal and statistical inference, and
the development of algorithms for artificial intelligence
systems;
(3) the analysis of existing large-scale datasets from
science and engineering experiments and simulations, including
energy simulations and other priorities at the Department as
determined by the Secretary using artificial intelligence tools
and techniques;
(4) the development of operation and control systems that
enhance automated, intelligent decisionmaking capabilities;
(5) the development of advanced computing hardware and
computer architecture tailored to artificial intelligence
systems, including the codesign of networks and computational
hardware;
(6) the development of standardized datasets for emerging
artificial intelligence research fields and applications,
including methods for addressing data scarcity; and
(7) the development of trustworthy artificial intelligence
systems, including--
(A) algorithmic explainability;
(B) analytical methods for identifying and
mitigating bias in artificial intelligence systems; and
(C) safety and robustness, including assurance,
verification, validation, security, and control.
(c) Technology Transfer.--In carrying out the program under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall support technology transfer of
artificial intelligence systems for the benefit of society and United
States economic competitiveness.
(d) Facility Use and Upgrades.--In carrying out the program under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
(1) make available high-performance computing
infrastructure at national laboratories;
(2) make any upgrades necessary to enhance the use of
existing computing facilities for artificial intelligence
systems, including upgrades to hardware;
(3) establish new computing capabilities necessary to
manage data and conduct high performance computing that enables
the use of artificial intelligence systems; and
(4) maintain and improve, as needed, networking
infrastructure, data input and output mechanisms, and data
analysis, storage, and service capabilities.
(e) Ethics.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall amend grant proposal
instructions to include a requirement for an ethics statement
to be included as part of any proposal for funding prior to
making the award. Such statement shall be considered by the
Secretary in the review of proposals, taking into consideration
any relevant input from the peer-reviewers for the proposal,
and shall factor into award decisions as deemed necessary by
the Secretary. Such statements may include, as appropriate--
(A) the potential societal benefits of the
research;
(B) any foreseeable or quantifiable risks to
society, including how the research could enable
products, technologies, or other outcomes that could
intentionally or unintentionally cause significant
societal harm; and
(C) how technical or social solutions can mitigate
such risks and, as appropriate, a plan to implement
such mitigation measures.
(2) Guidance.--The Secretary shall issue clear guidance on
what constitutes risks as described in section (1)(B), and to
the extent practical harmonize this policy with existing
ethical policies or related requirements for human subjects.
(3) Annual reports.--The Secretary shall encourage awardees
to update their ethics statements as appropriate as part of the
annual reports required by all awardees under the grant terms
and conditions.
(f) Risk Management.--The Secretary shall review agency policies
for risk management in artificial intelligence related projects and
issue as necessary policies and principles that are consistent with the
framework developed under section 301(b).
(g) Data Privacy and Sharing.--The Secretary shall review agency
policies for data sharing with other public and private sector
organizations and issue as necessary policies and principles that are
consistent with the standards and guidelines submitted under section
301(c). In addition, the Secretary shall establish a streamlined
mechanism for approving research projects or partnerships that require
sharing sensitive public or private data with the Department.
(h) Partnerships With Other Federal Agencies.--The Secretary may
request, accept, and provide funds from other Federal departments and
agencies, State, United States territory, local, or Tribal government
agencies, private sector for-profit entities, and nonprofit entities,
to be available to the extent provided by appropriations Acts, to
support a research project or partnership carried out under this
section. The Secretary may not give any special consideration to any
agency or entity in return for a donation.
(i) Stakeholder Engagement.--In carrying out the activities
authorized in this section, the Secretary shall--
(1) collaborate with a range of stakeholders including
small businesses, institutes of higher education, industry, and
the National Laboratories;
(2) leverage the collective body of knowledge from existing
artificial intelligence and machine learning research; and
(3) engage with other Federal agencies, research
communities, and potential users of information produced under
this section.
(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Department to carry out this section--
(1) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2021;
(2) $214,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
(3) $228,980,000 for fiscal year 2023;
(4) $245,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and
(5) $262,160,000 for fiscal year 2025.
(k) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy.
(2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Energy.
(3) National laboratory.--The term ``national laboratory''
has the meaning given such term in section 2 of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
(4) Eligible entities.--The term ``eligible entities''
means--
(A) an institution of higher education;
(B) a National Laboratory;
(C) a Federal research agency;
(D) a State research agency;
(E) a nonprofit research organization;
(F) a private sector entity; or
(G) a consortium of 2 or more entities described in
subparagraph (A) through (F).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
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