US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has announced a $10 million funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish the US Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute (USAISI). The USAISI was established in November 2023 to support the responsibilities assigned to the Department of Commerce under the AI Executive Order. The funding comes at a crucial time, as NIST has been facing funding challenges and was recently exposed for its decaying offices.
The establishment of the USAISI has been a topic of interest, with little information available about how it would work and where its funding would come from. NIST, with a staff of about 3,400 and an annual budget of just over $1.6 billion, is known to be underfunded. The recent funding announcement by Schumer is seen as a strong down payment towards implementing President Biden’s AI Executive Order.
The USAISI will play a crucial role in developing standards for safety, security, and testing of AI models. It will also develop standards for authenticating AI-generated content and provide testing environments for researchers to evaluate emerging AI risks. The institute is working in coordination with a consortium of 200 companies and organizations focused on research, development, testing, and evaluation to improve the safety and accountability of AI systems.
However, there has been criticism regarding NIST’s lack of transparency and funding for the USAISI. In February, lawmakers from both parties sent a letter to NIST expressing concerns about the agency’s transparency and failure to announce a competitive process for research grants related to the USAISI. They also highlighted the challenges within the AI safety research field, including disagreements on scope, taxonomies, and definitions.
Rumman Chowdhury, who formerly led AI efforts at Accenture and served as head of Twitter’s META team, emphasized the issue of funding for the USAISI. She highlighted that the executive order establishing the institute was an unfunded mandate, and there is currently no funding allocated for it.
The funding announcement by Schumer is a significant step towards addressing the funding challenges faced by NIST and the USAISI. It reflects a commitment to prioritize innovation while ensuring safety, accountability, and transparency in AI development. The establishment of the institute and the development of standards will contribute to the advancement of AI technology and its responsible implementation.
Overall, the funding announcement is a positive development for the AI industry and highlights the importance of addressing safety concerns in AI development. As AI continues to advance, it is crucial to have robust standards in place to ensure the safe and ethical use of this transformative technology.
