The National Science Foundation and the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy are developing a plan to make high-performance computing, machine-learning datasets and other resources more widely available to artificial intelligence researchers at every level. Developing artificial intelligence tools and technologies requires lots of data and even more computing resources. Gaining a national advantage in this area will require a significant concentration of work that is currently limited to agencies and organizations that have those resources. But the best, groundbreaking ideas aren't always centered in places with the most resources. To address this issue, the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act charged NSF and OSTP with developing a plan to build up those resources and make sure they are available to people throughout the U.S. who can make good use of them.

The National Science Foundation this week announced the formation of seven national AI institutes aimed at advancing technological innovation and bolstering the economy. AI research by the National Science Foundation will expand to a broader range of businesses across the U.S. economy through five new NSF AI institutes being created at a cost of $100 million. The new initiatives, which were unveiled Aug. 26 by the agency, will deepen the NSF's artificial intelligence research to expand the nation's workforce and drive new possibilities for a wide range of businesses, educational institutions, medicine, banking and other organizations. In a related announcement, two complementary AI research institutes are also being created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the next five years using $40 million in funding to expand AI research in farming and food processing. The new AI institutes will emphasize use-inspired research to help businesses and organizations, said James Donlon, program director for information and intelligent systems in the NSF's directorate for computer and information science and engineering (CISE) division.