Memphis Standard

The U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has passed the bipartisan Future of AI Innovation Act. The bill was introduced by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.) to maintain America's leadership in developing artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies.

The legislation aims to foster partnerships between government, business, civil society, and academia to advance AI research. It authorizes the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute (AISI) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and establishes testbeds with national laboratories to accelerate AI innovation for economic growth and national security.

"The Future of AI Innovation Act encourages coordination between the U.S. government and industry to capitalize on the promise of AI to revolutionize our lives," said Senator Blackburn. "The bill mobilizes the expertise of our National Laboratories, like Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to create testbeds for synthesizing new materials for AI systems."

Senator Cantwell added that the act builds on recommendations from the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee to promote public-private collaboration, drive innovation, and support U.S. competitiveness. "It codifies the AI Safety Institute at NIST that is already developing voluntary guidelines and tests for advanced AI models," she said.

Senator Young emphasized that maintaining American leadership in global AI advancement is critical. "This bipartisan bill will create important partnerships between government, the private sector, and academia to establish voluntary standards and best practices," he noted.

Key provisions of the Future of AI Innovation Act include:

- Authorizing NIST's AI Safety Institute to develop measurement science, voluntary guidelines, and rigorous testing for advanced AI models.

- Creating new testbed programs with national laboratories for evaluating complex AI models.

- Establishing grand challenge prize competitions aimed at overcoming barriers in various fields such as computing, microelectronics, advanced manufacturing, maritime vessel propulsion systems, border security including fentanyl detection.

- Directing federal science agencies to make curated datasets publicly available for accelerating advancements in diverse sectors like agriculture, medicine, transportation.

- Directing international alliances on AI innovation with technologically advanced democracies.

On Monday, over 45 leading tech organizations urged passage of this legislation. Co-sponsors include John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.).