White House Aims To Boost Funding For AI And Quantum Tech By 30% In 2021

A report released today by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) shows the Trump administration is proposing to increase non-defense R&D spending on artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum information science by 30% next year, taking the total to $2.2 billion. The news comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions between the United States and China over a range of technology issues, including a U.S. move to force popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok to sell its American operations and another to frustrate the international expansion efforts of Chinese telecoms giants such as Huawei. Both countries see AI and quantum information science, which includes quantum computing and quantum-encrypted communications, as central to their future military and economic success. Military investment in AI and quantum science has been rising for some time. Speaking at a recent Forbes CIO event, Dana Deasy, the CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense, noted that battlefield commanders will need help with processing the mountains of data flowing into them in any future conflicts.