The Department of Energy unveiled on Tuesday the details of a sweeping new initiative that could dramatically increase the federal government’s work on artificial intelligence.
DOE, alongside its network of 17 national labs, is pledging to “build the world’s most powerful integrated scientific Al systems.” But the initiative — dubbed Frontiers in Al for Science, Security, and Technology (FASST) — requires Congress to pony up millions or even billions of dollars during an election year.
“Certain strategic areas of the US government’s artificial intelligence capabilities currently lag industry while foreign adversaries are investing in Al at scale,” DOE says in a fact sheet on the initiative. “If U.S. government leadership is not rapidly established in this sector, the nation risks falling behind in the development of safe and trustworthy Al.”
“Without FASST, the United States stands to lose its competitive scientific edge,” it says.