The bipartisan "Endless Frontier" bill would authorize most of the money, $100 billion, over five years to invest in basic and advanced research, commercialization, and education and training programs in key technology areas, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, advanced communications, biotechnology and advanced energy. The bill had been expected to be considered on April 28, but was delayed after more than 230 amendments were filed for consideration. Senate Democrats and Republicans are moving closer to reaching agreement. A congressional aide said "there has been very encouraging progress toward a deal." The measure, sponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Republican Senator Todd Young and others, would also authorize another $10 billion to designate at least 10 regional technology hubs and create a supply chain crisis-response program to address issues like the shortfall in semiconductor chips harming auto production.

Google's testimony to an Australian Senate committee on Friday threatening to withdraw its search services from Australia is chilling to anyone who cares about democracy. It marks the latest escalation in the globally significant effort to regulate the way the big tech platforms use news content to drive their advertising businesses and the catastrophic impact on the news media across the world. The news bargaining code, which would require Google and Facebook to negotiate a fair price for the use of news content, is the product of an 18-month process driven by the competition regulator. That legislation is currently before the Australian parliament, where a Senate committee is taking final submissions from interested parties. The Google bombshell makes explicit what has been a slowly escalating threat that a binding code would not be tenable.

A bill that U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner has co-sponsored to develop and guide the use of artificial intelligence in the federal government passed out of committee on Wednesday. "Our bill will bring agencies, industry, and others to the table to discuss government adoption of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies," Gardner said in a statement. The AI in Government Act defines artificial intelligence as any type of computer programming that would enable the computer to carry out tasks of the sort that "would require intelligence if performed by a human." The bill would create an AI Center of Excellence within the General Services Administration, which would coordinate AI use in the public interest and house the government's technical expertise. The center's responsibility would also include analyzing the ethical and civil liberties implications of artificial intelligence, helping state and local governments as needed.

Artificial intelligence is the key to unlocking the challenge and promise of self-driving cars, NVIDIA told Congress today. In testimony before a packed hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Rob Csongor, vice president and general manager of the company's Automotive business, said that AI will in the years ahead enable self-driving cars that save tens of thousands of lives, provide mobility to the disabled, improve urban design and save vast amounts of unproductive time. "Today, we are working with virtually every automaker on research and development of advanced self-driving vehicles using AI," said Csongor at the start of the two-hour hearing, which was attended by more than a dozen senators, and some 150 staffers, lobbyists, reporters and a few stray tourists. "Our technology is being used by more than 225 automotive companies worldwide, including Audi, Tesla, Toyota, Volvo, Mercedes and others. We are now at the point where we can create AI systems that have levels of perception and performance far beyond humans, and importantly, do not get distracted, fatigued or impaired," he said.

In October, the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy released a report, Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence, and hosted the White House Frontiers Conference, as a culmination of a year long set of activities seeking public comment on artificial intelligence and its policy implications. Tomorrow, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation is convening a hearing on the dawn of artificial intelligence. The witness list looks august and I am looking forward to talking through the content here afterwards.