White House launches artificial intelligence task force

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) on Thursday announced the launch of a National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource Task Force.

The new task force will lay out a road map for expanding critical resources and educational tools that the Biden Administration says it hopes will spur innovation and economic prosperity across the U.S. Its launch comes amid heightened scrutiny of the U.S.’s competitive position in research and development, and follows a bill that was last week passed by the Senate to limit the technology influence of China.

The new task force will act as an advisory committee and is tasked with ensuring that AI researchers and students across all scientific disciplines receive the computational resources, high quality data, educational tools and other user support. It will submit two reports to Congress that present a comprehensive AI strategy and implementation plan: an interim report in May 2022, and a final report in November 2022.

Lynne Parker, who is director of the National AI Initiative Office at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will co-chair the committee, along with Erwin Gianchandani from the National Science Foundation.

Other members of the committee include experts from the universities of New York and Standard, as well as a representative from Google.

Frederick Streitz from the Department of Energy and Elham Tabassi from the National Institute of Standards and Technnology are also on the committee.

Commenting on the launch of the committee, Science Advisor to the president and OSTP director Eric Lander, said: “America’s economic prosperity hinges on foundational investments in our technological leadership.”

“The National AI Research Resource will expand access to the resources and tools that fuel AI research and development, opening opportunities for bright minds from across America to pursue the next breakthroughs in science and technology,” he added.

NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan said: “NSF is delighted to co-chair the National AI Research Resource Task Force, which has the essential role of envisioning the research infrastructure that will drive future innovations in AI.

“By bringing together the nation’s foremost experts from academia, industry, and government, we will be able to chart an exciting and compelling path forward, ensuring long-term U.S. competitiveness in all fields of science and engineering and all sectors of our economy,” he added.