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Trump administration says 15 agencies will get $5bn in ‘AI for science’ effort

From The Guardian · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The Trump administration announced a $5 billion initiative to use artificial intelligence for scientific research across 15 federal agencies.
  • The funding aims to address scientific challenges, including chronic diseases and drug discovery, by leveraging AI and supercomputing resources.
  • The initiative also includes plans to reform federal research funding to support individual scientists and AI applications more directly.

The Trump administration has committed $5 billion to an initiative aimed at tackling complex scientific problems using artificial intelligence. The "AI for Science" effort will involve 15 federal agencies, according to a statement released Wednesday.

The funding is intended to accelerate research in various fields, including identifying the root causes of chronic diseases, speeding up drug discovery, and developing advanced materials. Scientists participating in the program will gain access to resources such as the Department of Energy's supercomputers, AI tools, and specialized datasets necessary for running complex algorithms and experiments. Michael Kratsios, chief technology adviser to Donald Trump, highlighted the collaborative nature of the initiative, stating, "The White House is helping bring together all of the different agencies that work on different domains to make them part of this larger effort on AI for science."

The White House is helping bring together all of the different agencies that work on different domains to make them part of this larger effort on AI for science.

— Michael KratsiosExplaining the inter-agency collaboration aspect of the AI for Science initiative.

Beyond the direct funding, the administration also plans to overhaul how federal research is supported. A White House report authored by Kratsios outlines a shift towards backing individual scientists and the direct use of AI, potentially reducing reliance on traditional university grants. This approach aims to give the administration greater control over fund allocation, emphasizing political accountability in federal science support.

AI models thrive on data, and the U.S. government possesses vast repositories of information, including records on chemicals, critical minerals, and patient health. This initiative presents a significant opportunity to train AI models on this data, enabling them to generate predictions and automate decisions to answer critical scientific questions. Microsoft has pledged to support the effort by donating $40 million in AI computing credits over three years.

Federal support for science must be politically accountable.

— White House reportStating the administration's principle for allocating federal research funds.
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Originally published by The Guardian. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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