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