Congress just voted to spend $10 billion on AI, quantum computing

Much of the tech industry's focus on the National Defense Authorization Act has revolved around President Trump's threat to veto the must-pass defense spending bill because it does not repeal Section 230. But the final version of the NDAA, passed by a vast majority of both chambers this week, contains a little-noticed provision that promises to reverberate across the industry: a pledge to increase government spending on artificial intelligence, quantum computing and 5G technology by $10 billion annually over the next five years. It's unclear exactly how much the government spends to bolster those technologies today, but it's likely closer to $1.5 billion. The Industries of the Future Act of 2020, which was supported by IBM and software industry trade group BSA, was introduced earlier this year amid a broader push from the White House -- and Ivanka Trump -- to invest more government resources in "industries of the future," meaning emerging technologies like quantum computing and artificial intelligence. It's part of a broader effort to funnel more resources toward ensuring the U.S. has a leg up on China in the so-called "race" to technological dominance.