Legislation Would Create AI Research Cloud

A bipartisan bill has been introduced to create an AI research resource in the cloud. 

Behind the bill, the pretty self-explanatory National AI Resource Task Force Act, are Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Anthony Gonzales (R-Ohio) and Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.). 

The task for the bill establishes would be a group of tech experts across government, industry and academia charged with coming up with a detailed plan for the U.S. to "build, deploy, govern, and sustain a national research cloud." 

A companion bill in the Senate has been introduced by Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). "AI is shaping our lives in so many ways, but the true potential of it to improve society is still being discovered by researchers," said Eshoo, whose district includes portions of Silicon Valley. "I'm proud to introduce legislation that re-imagines how AI research will be conducted by pooling data, compute power, and educational resources for researchers around our country. This legislation ensures that our country will retain our global lead in AI." 

“We cannot take America's AI leadership for granted. With China focused on toppling the United States' leadership in AI," said Sen. Portman. "[W]e need to redouble our efforts with a sustained commitment to the best and brightest by developing a national research cloud to ensure our technical researchers get the tools they need to succeed...By democratizing access to computing power we ensure that any American with computer science talent can pursue their good ideas.”

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.