New Federal AI Research Program Announced

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a new program to advance research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and accelerate the development of transformational, AI-powered innovation. The new funding opportunity anticipates $200 million in large-scale, long-term investments in AI research and education over the next 6 years. The effort is led by NSF in partnership with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The program’s planning track will support grants of $500,000 for up to two years to enable teams to develop collaborative plans for full institute operations. Additionally, the program has an institute track to support cooperative agreements of $16 million to $20 million for four to five years for establishing AI research institutes. The National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes program anticipates $120 million in grants next year to fund planning grants and up to six research institutes within NSF to “create national nexus points for universities, federal agencies, industries and nonprofits.” Among the six high-priority areas listed for the program are “AI-Driven Innovation in Agriculture and the Food System” and “AI for Accelerating Molecular Synthesis and Manufacturing.” A 2018 BioScience article explo...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news