81 FR 41610 - Request for Information on Artificial Intelligence

OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 123 (June 27, 2016)

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies offer great promise for creating new and innovative products, growing the economy, and advancing national priorities in areas such as education, mental and physical health, addressing climate change, and more. Like any transformative technology, however, AI carries risks and presents complex policy challenges along a number of different fronts. The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is interested in developing a view of AI across all sectors for the purpose of recommending directions for research and determining challenges and opportunities in this field. The views of the American people, including stakeholders such as consumers, academic and industry researchers, private companies, and charitable foundations, are important to inform an understanding of current and future needs for AI in diverse fields. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback on overarching questions in AI, including AI research and the tools, technologies, and training that are needed to answer these questions.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 123 (Monday, June 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41610-41611]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-15082]


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OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY


Request for Information on Artificial Intelligence

ACTION: Notice of Request for Information.

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SUMMARY: Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies offer great promise 
for creating new and innovative products, growing the economy, and 
advancing national priorities in areas such as education, mental and 
physical health, addressing climate change, and more. Like any 
transformative technology, however, AI carries risks and presents 
complex policy challenges along a number of different fronts. The 
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is interested in 
developing a view of AI across all sectors for the purpose of 
recommending directions for research and determining challenges and 
opportunities in this field. The views of the American people, 
including stakeholders such as consumers, academic and industry 
researchers, private companies, and charitable foundations, are 
important to inform an understanding of current and future needs for AI 
in diverse fields. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback on 
overarching questions in AI, including AI research and the tools, 
technologies, and training that are needed to answer these questions.

DATES: Responses must be received by July 22, 2016 to be considered.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Webform: https://www.whitehouse.gov/webform/rfi-preparing-future-artificial-intelligence
     Fax: (202) 456-6040, Attn: Terah Lyons.
     Mail: Attn: Terah Lyons, Office of Science and Technology 
Policy, Eisenhower Executive Office Building, 1650 Pennsylvania Ave. 
NW., Washington, DC 20504. Please allow sufficient time for mail 
security processing. Comments must be received by July 22, 2016, to be 
considered.
    Instructions: Response to this RFI is voluntary. Responses 
exceeding 2,000 words will not be considered. Respondents need not 
reply to all questions; however, they should clearly indicate the 
number of each question to which they are responding. Brevity is 
appreciated. Responses to this RFI may be posted without change online. 
OSTP therefore requests that no business proprietary information or 
personally identifiable information be submitted in response to this 
RFI. Please note that the U.S. Government will not pay for response 
preparation, or for the use of any information contained in the 
response.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 3, 2016, the White House Office of 
Science and Technology Policy announced a number of new actions related 
to AI: https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/05/03/preparing-future-artificial-intelligence. As a part of this initiative, the Federal 
Government is working to leverage AI for public good and to aid in 
promoting more effective government. OSTP is in the process of co-
hosting four public workshops in 2016 on topics in AI in order to spur 
public dialogue on these topics and to identify challenges and 
opportunities related to this emerging technology. These topics include 
the legal and governance issues for AI, AI for public good, safety and 
control for AI, and the social and economic implications of AI. A new 
National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Subcommittee on Machine 
Learning and Artificial Intelligence has also been established. This 
group will monitor state-of-the-art advances and technology milestones 
in artificial intelligence and machine learning within the Federal 
Government, in the private sector, and internationally, as well as help 
coordinate Federal activity in this space. Ultimately, dialogue from 
these workshops and the efforts of the NSTC Subcommittee may feed into 
the development of a public report.
    The Administration is working to leverage AI as an emergent 
technology for public good and toward a more effective government. 
Applications in AI to areas of government that are not traditionally 
technology-focused are especially significant; there are myriad 
opportunities to improve government services in areas related to urban 
systems and smart cities, mental and physical health, social welfare, 
criminal justice, and the environment. There is also tremendous 
potential in AI-driven improvements to programs that help disadvantaged 
and vulnerable populations.
    OSTP is particularly interested in responses related to the 
following topics: (1) The legal and governance implications of AI; (2) 
the use of AI for public good; (3) the safety and control issues for 
AI; (4) the social and economic implications of AI; (5) the most 
pressing, fundamental questions in AI research, common to most or all 
scientific fields; (6) the most important research gaps in AI that must 
be addressed to advance this field and benefit the public; (7) the 
scientific and technical training that will be needed to

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take advantage of harnessing the potential of AI technology, and the 
challenges faced by institutions of higher education in retaining 
faculty and responding to explosive growth in student enrollment in AI-
related courses and courses of study; (8) the specific steps that could 
be taken by the federal government, research institutes, universities, 
and philanthropies to encourage multi-disciplinary AI research; (9) 
specific training data sets that can accelerate the development of AI 
and its application; (10) the role that ``market shaping'' approaches 
such as incentive prizes and Advanced Market Commitments can play in 
accelerating the development of applications of AI to address societal 
needs, such as accelerated training for low and moderate income workers 
(see https://www.usaid.gov/cii/market-shaping-primer); and (11) any 
additional information related to AI research or policymaking, not 
requested above, that you believe OSTP should consider.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terah Lyons, (202) 456-4444, 
[email protected], OSTP.

Ted Wackler,
Deputy Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2016-15082 Filed 6-24-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3270-F5-P