Suzanne Bonamici

09/19/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/19/2024 11:32

Bonamici, Williams Introduce Legislation to Aid AI Development

WASHINGTON- Today, Congressman Brandon Williams (NY-22) and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1) introduced the Department of Energy Artificial Intelligence Act of 2024, a bill providing updated guidance for the Department of Energy's (DOE) activities in developing advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems to carry out missions pertaining to national security, energy-efficiency, and scientific discovery.

The DOE AI Act of 2024 amends the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 by updating the section directing a Department of Energy artificial intelligence research program. This bill codifies multiple activities and objectives for DOE's AI research and development activities, including:

  • Authorizing the activities of the Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence for Science, Security, and Technology (FASST) initiative, an effort between the DOE and its seventeen National Laboratories to build the most powerful integrated scientific AI systems in the world,
  • Facilitating the development of high-performance computing systems and artificial intelligence platforms through DOE-owned infrastructure data and computing facilities,
  • Authorizing at least one data center testbed for the development and assessment of hardware and algorithms for energy-efficient AI training, and
  • Directing the DOE to establish partnerships with nonprofit organizations and private companies for the purpose of collaboration toward shared goals of scientific discovery and technological innovation in the field of AI.
"This is the kind of technology that will define the coming eras of human history. To ensure prosperity at home and maintain America's scientific advantage abroad, we must innovate. We must utilize every resource available to develop newer, stronger, safer tech which, in turn, will spur advances in national security, energy-efficiency, manufacturing, and more," said Congressman Williams. "Artificial intelligence is evolving rapidly and the government must be equipped to respond to new developments and stay on the cutting edge,"said Congresswoman Bonamici."I'm introducing the bipartisan DOE AI Act with Rep. Williams to position the Department of Energy to develop high-performance platforms, responsibly cultivate training data, and improve energy efficiency to support safe AI innovation."

The full bill is available here.

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