On September 12, the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Task Force convened virtually for its ninth public meeting to consider the final elements in the development of an implementation plan for a national cyberinfrastructure that would enhance U.S. competitiveness in a critical emerging technology. The NAIRR would democratize access to the resources and tools that fuel AI research and development (R&D), advancing equity in the AI research environment and sparking innovation, job creation, and economic growth.
NAIRR Task Force co-chair, Manish Parashar, Office Director of the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure at the National Science Foundation, opened the meeting by welcoming the newly appointed White House Office of Science and Technology Policy NAIRR Task Force co-chair, Tess deBlanc-Knowles, Senior Policy Advisor in the National AI Initiative Office. Ms. deBlanc-Knowles steps into this role following the departure of Lynne Parker, former Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer and Director of the National AI Initiative Office.
The early sessions of the meeting engaged Task Force members in deliberation around two central aspects of the implementation plan for the NAIRR: access and security controls, and resource allocation and evaluation. The Task Force members agreed on the importance of establishing a resource allocation process that could accommodate researchers with and without existing Federal funding, as well as researchers or students requesting access for a range of research projects, from small, exploratory efforts to larger, resource-intensive activities.