U.S. Senator Young & colleagues introduce bill to advance AI Innovation, reliability for Americans

Today, U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) reintroduced the Creating Resources for Every American to Experiment with Artificial Intelligence Act (CREATE AI Act), legislation that would establish the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR). The NAIRR is a shared national research infrastructure to connect American researchers and educators to data, software, and tools necessary to advance AI research and development (R&D) and develop AI skills for the U.S. workforce. The legislation will also focus on improving the safety, reliability, and trustworthiness of AI for Americans.

“The United States cannot cede leadership in AI development to China. For both our economic and national security, we must harness AI’s potential and mitigate its risks. By establishing the National AI Research Resource in statute, the CREATE AI Act will give incredible access and resources to America’s brightest, allowing for advancements in AI innovation, deployment, and safety for our country and ultimately the world,” said Senator Young.

“The Create AI Act will help us develop and deploy AI responsibly, while also unleashing American innovation by expanding access to the tools needed to conduct cutting-edge research. But as we push this technology forward, we must also take seriously our responsibility to rein in its potential harms — putting the right safeguards in place to ensure AI is used safely, ethically, and in the public interest. By truly democratizing access to AI, we can prepare American workers for the future, maintain our nation’s competitive edge, and ensure these rapid advancements strengthen our economy and benefit communities in New Mexico and across the country,” said Senator Heinrich.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to impact a range of fields, from national security to health care,” said Senator Rounds. “Our bipartisan legislation establishes the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR), which will provide tools and resources for universities and researchers across the country. This will help NAIRR to accomplish the objectives laid out in President Trump’s AI Action Plan. Universities in South Dakota are already conducting research and applying AI and other emerging technologies. This legislation will allow these universities to expand their leading role.”

“The United States has some of the brightest AI researchers in the world. They want to solve hard problems and improve people’s lives—but the steep financial costs of doing this research have pushed too many of them to the sidelines,” said Senator Booker. “The NAIRR gives universities, students, and researchers—in New Jersey and across the country—the tools they need to pursue new breakthroughs; it ensures that the future of AI research isn’t shaped only by a small number of large companies; and it helps us build a stronger, more diverse AI research community that’s focused on serving the public good.“

The CREATE AI Act would establish NAIRR to do the following:

• Spur innovation and advance the development of safe, reliable, and trustworthy AI research and development.
• Improve access to AI resources for researchers and students
• Expand capacity for AI research in the United States
• Develop tool AI tools for the U.S. workforce

The legislation is supported by Indiana University, AI Policy Network, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), Cognizant, SeedAI, and Business Software Alliance.

“Artificial intelligence’s advanced data and computing capacity can help us solve complex, real-world problems,” said Pamela Whitten, President of Indiana University. “By broadening access for university and nonprofit researchers, we can accelerate innovation and expand the impact of research that benefits America. Senator Young’s leadership on the National AI Research Resource is an important step forward.”

“By establishing the National AI Research Resource within the National Science Foundation, the CREATE AI Act will enable greater scientific discovery, advance new methods of AI testing and evaluation, and better resource the alignment research needed to prevent the loss of control over AI systems of unprecedented scope and capability. As AI systems become increasingly capable, the ability for scientists to rigorously and independently evaluate AI models is a national security and public safety imperative,” said Daniel Colson, Executive Director of the AI Policy Network. 

“Now is the time to empower students and researchers with cutting-edge AI development tools,” said Jason Oxman, President and CEO of ITI. "To do this, we need a place where public and private sector partners can collaborate and share resources like compute, data, and infrastructure. This legislation would designate the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) as that hub. We thank Senators Young and Heinrich for their leadership on the CREATE AI Act and for helping more Americans access U.S. AI leadership and expertise.”

“I commend Senators Young and Heinrich for their leadership on democratizing AI for shared benefit across the United States. As a leading AI builder, we see firsthand the importance of expanding the AI ecosystem for researchers, students, non-profits, and businesses through access, learning, and adaptability. This bipartisan legislation will drive innovation, accelerate AI participation, and advance our national infrastructure to support the fast-moving changes of this transformative technology,” said Ravi Kumar S, CEO of Cognizant.

“Access to compute, data, and tools are all major bottlenecks for AI. One of the best ways Congress can help promote American competitiveness is by removing these bottlenecks across the country — for students, researchers, scientists, startups, and established businesses alike. Codifying the NAIRR would help do exactly that. We commend Senators Young, Heinrich, Rounds, and Booker for their continued focus on this critical bipartisan priority and urge swift passage for the CREATE AI Act,” said Austin Carson, Founder and CEO of SeedAI.

“BSA commends Senators Young, Heinrich, Rounds, and Booker for reintroducing the CREATE AI Act to expand access to the infrastructure that drives AI innovation. The bill would strengthen US leadership in AI by establishing the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource. By broadening access to compute, data, and technical resources, the CREATE AI Act will accelerate more widespread AI research and adoption and help startups, small businesses, and academic institutions put AI to work,” said Business Software Alliance.

Full text of the legislation can be found here.