Communications of the ACM
Trump Wants to Double Spending on AI, Quantum Computing
Federal chief technology officer Michael Kratsios says the U.S. faces a "global power competition" for artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other critical technologies.
Credit: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg News
The White House on Monday proposed roughly doubling nondefense research-and-development spending on artificial intelligence and quantum information sciences, citing fierce global competition, while cutting overall funding for R&D.
The proposal is part of President Trump's $4.8 trillion federal budget for the fiscal year ending in September 2021. A White House budget isn't binding; it signals an administration's areas of focus for congressional budget negotiations in the year ahead.
Under the proposal, the government's overall R&D spending would decline to $142.2 billion from an estimated $156 billion in fiscal 2020, according to a White House budget document.
Within the next two years, annual spending on AI would rise to more than $2 billion and funding for quantum computing would increase to $860 million, according to the White House plan.
The proposed increases in AI spending include more than $850 million at the National Science Foundation, $125 million at the Department of Energy's Office of Science and $100 million at the Agriculture Department, among other agencies.
From The Wall Street Journal
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