White House AI Summit

Updates and Reminders

AAAS Forum on Science & Technology Policy, Washington, D.C., June 21 – 22, 2018.

Potential revival of OTA progress from the House appropriations subcommittee:
“Technology Assessment Study: The Committee has heard testimony on, and received dozens of requests advocating for restoring funding to the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA).

White House new artificial intelligence advisory committee


White House 2018 Summit on AI for American Industry

Background from the report:

“Artificial intelligence (AI) has tremendous potential to benefit the American people, and has already demonstrated immense value in enhancing our national security and growing our economy.

AI is quickly transforming American life and American business, improving how we diagnose and treat illnesses, grow our food, manufacture and deliver new products, manage our finances, power our homes, and travel from point A to point B.

On May 10, 2018, the White House hosted the Artificial Intelligence for American Industry summit, to discuss the promise of AI and the policies we will need to realize that promise for the American people and maintain U.S. leadership in the age of artificial intelligence.

‘Artificial intelligence holds tremendous potential as a tool to empower the American worker, drive growth in American industry, and improve the lives of the American people. Our free market approach to scientific discovery harnesses the combined strengths of government, industry, and academia, and uniquely positions us to leverage this technology for the betterment of our great nation.’
– Michael Kratsios, Deputy Assistant to the President for Technology Policy

The summit brought together over 100 senior government officials, technical experts from top academic institutions, heads of industrial research labs, and American business leaders who are adopting AI technologies to benefit their customers, workers, and shareholders.”

Issues addressed at the 2018 summit are as follows:

  • Support for the national AI R&D ecosystem – “free market approach to scientific discovery that harnesses the combined strengths of government, industry, and academia.”
  • American workforce that can take full advantage of the benefits of AI – “new types of jobs and demand for new technical skills across industries … efforts to prepare America for the jobs of the future, from a renewed focus on STEM education throughout childhood and beyond, to technical apprenticeships, re-skilling, and lifelong learning programs to better match America’s skills with the needs of industry.”
  • Barriers to AI innovation in the United States – included “need to promote awareness of AI so that the public can better understand how these technologies work and how they can benefit our daily lives.”
  • High-impact, sector-specific applications of AI – “novel ways industry leaders are using AI technologies to empower the American workforce, grow their businesses, and better serve their customers.”

See details in the Summary of the 2018 White House Summit on AI for American Industry

Potential Revival of OTA

As a small agency within the Legislative Branch, the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) originally provided the United States Congress with expert analyses of new technologies related to public policy, but OTA was defunded and ceased operations in 1995. A non-binding Resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives last week by Reps. Bill Foster (D-IL) and Bob Takano (D-CA) (press release), and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) is expected to introduce a parallel bill in the Senate, expressing the non-binding “sense of Congress” that the agency and its funding should be revived. New coordinated efforts also are now underway among many groups to urge Congress to do exactly that.

Our colleagues at USACM have delivered letters of support for an inquiry into whether restoring OTA or its functions to the Legislative Branch would be advisable to the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The House Subcommittee met recently and voted to advance legislation to fund the Legislative Branch for FY 2019 to the full House Appropriations Committee but without addressing this issue. The full Committee’s meeting, at which an amendment to provide pilot funding for an inquiry into OTA-like services could be offered, is expected later in May. The Senate’s parallel Subcommittee and full Appropriations Committee is expected to act later this spring or early summer on the Legislative Branch’s FY19 funding bill. OTA-related amendments could be offered at either of their related business meetings.

Resources

2005 Report by the Congressional Research Service
Recent testimony by Zachary Graves of Washington’s R Street Institute
Letter from USACM to leaders in the House and Senate Appropriations Committees

Public Policy Opportunity

AAAS Forum on Science & Technology Policy, Washington, D.C., June 21 – 22, 2018.
From AAAS: “The annual AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy is the conference for people interested in public policy issues facing the science, engineering, and higher education communities. Since 1976, it has been the place where insiders go to learn what is happening and what is likely to happen in the coming year on the federal budget and the growing number of policy issues that affect researchers and their institutions.”