Trump Could Torpedo a Bill to Boost Funding for AI

Over a tumultuous four years, the Trump administration has steadily emphasized the importance of artificial intelligence to American competitiveness. Now President Trump must decide whether to veto what would be the government's biggest-ever funding and strategy boost to AI. The National Defense Authorization Act would provide $6.4 billion in federal money over five years for research on AI and its applications, and it would push Washington toward developing a national strategy on the technology. The bill, approved by both houses of Congress, would increase federal AI spending with $4.8 billion for the National Science Foundation, $1.2 billion via the Energy Department, and $400 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Martijn Rasser, a senior fellow of the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for New American Security, a strategy think tank in Washington, DC, says the funding is significant.