The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology voted unanimously in favor of the report Tuesday following a nearly hourlong public discussion of its contents and recommendations. The delivery of PCAST’s report will fulfill a requirement in Biden’s executive order on AI, which called for an exploration of the technology’s potential role in “research aimed at tackling major societal and global challenges.”

“Empowerment of human scientists” was the first goal presented by PCAST members, with a particular focus on how AI assistants should play a complementary role to human scientists, rather than replacing them altogether. The ability of AI tools to process “huge streams of data” should free up scientists “to focus on high-level directions,” the report argued, with a network of AI assistants deployed to take on “large, interdisciplinary, and/or decentralized projects.”

AI collaborations on basic and applied research should be supported across federal agencies, national laboratories, industry and academia, the report recommends. Laura H. Greene, a Florida State University physics professor and chief scientist at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, cited the National Science Foundation’s Materials Innovation Platforms as an example of AI-centered “data-sharing infrastructures” and “community building” that PCAST members envision. 

“We can see future projects that will include collaborators to develop next-generation quantum computing qubits, wholesale modeling, whole Earth foundation models” and an overall “handle on high-quality broad ranges of scientific databases across many disciplines,” Greene said.

The group also recommended that “innovative approaches” be explored on how AI assistance can be integrated into scientific workflows. Funding agencies should keep AI in mind when designing and organizing scientific projects, the report said.

The second set of recommendations from PCAST centered on the responsible and transparent use of AI, with those principles employed in all stages of the scientific research process. Funding agencies “should require responsible AI use plans from researchers that would assess potential AI-related risks,” the report states, matching the principles called out in the White House’s AI Bill of Rights and the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s AI Risk Management Framework.

Eric Horvitz, chief scientific officer at Microsoft, said PCAST’s emphasis on responsible AI use means putting forward “our best efforts to making sure these tools are used in the best ways possible and keeping an eye on possible downsides, whether the models are open source or not open source models. … We’re very optimistic about the wondrous, good things we can expect, but we have to sort of make sure we keep an eye on the rough edges.”

The potential for identifying those “rough edges” rests at least partially in the group’s third recommendation of having shared and open resources. PCAST makes its case in the report for an expansion of existing efforts to “broadly and equitably share basic AI resources.” There should be more secure access granted to federal datasets to aid critical research needs, the report noted, with the requisite protections and guardrails in place.

PCAST members included a specific callout for an expansion of NSF’s National Secure Data Service Demonstration project and the Census Bureau’s Federal Statistical Research Data Centers. The National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource should also be “fully funded,” given its potential as a “stepping-stone for even more ambitious ‘moonshot’ programs,” the report said.

AI-related work from the scientists who make up PCAST won’t stop after the report is edited and posted online next week. Bill Press, a computer science and integrative biology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said it’s especially important now in this early developmental stage for scientists to test AI systems and learn to use them responsibly. 

“We’re dealing with tools that, at least right now, are ethically neutral,” Press said. “They’re not necessarily biased in the wrong direction. And so you can ask them to check these things. And unlike human people who write code, these tools don’t have pride of ownership. They’re just as happy to try to reveal biases that might have incurred as they are to create them. And that’s where the scientists are going to have to learn to use them properly.”

The post Scientists must be empowered — not replaced — by AI, report to White House argues appeared first on FedScoop.

Led by the Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Kelvin Droegemier, the 16-member advisory council, referred to as PCAST, will “advise the president on matters involving science, technology, education, and innovation policy” and “provide the president with scientific and technical information that is needed to inform public policy relating to the American economy, the American worker, national and homeland security, and other topics.”

The members will come from sectors outside of the government to provide their “diverse perspectives and expertise in science, technology, education, and innovation.”

“PCAST will be critical to our continued [science and technology] efforts, with each member bringing a unique expert perspective to the table,” Droegemier said in a statement. “By convening a diverse group of our nation’s foremost leaders across a broad range of fields, we can leverage the full innovation ecosystem, solve some of the nation’s greatest challenges, and ensure America’s science and technology leadership for generations to come.”

OSTP announced the first seven members of the PCAST:

• Catherine Bessant, Chief Technology Officer, Bank of America
• Dr. H. Fisk, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
• Dario Gil, Director of Research, IBM Research
• Sharon Hrynkow, Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs, Cyclo Therapeutics
• A.N. Sreeram, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Dow Chemical
• Shane Wall, Chief Technology Officer and Global Head of HP Labs, HP Inc.
• K. Birgitta Whaley, Director of Quantum Information and Computation Center, University of California-Berkley

Trump isn’t the first president to have a PCAST. Both George W. Bush and Barack Obama had such councils in their administrations. Trump’s, however, comes two-and-a-half years into his presidency.

In the executive order, Trump calls out the federal government’s storied past working with scientists and technologists as advisers to lead global innovation. He hopes this new council will reinvigorate that partnership.

“Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum information science are now on the horizon, and how we address their development will determine whether they give rise to new American industries or challenge American values,” Trump writes in the order. “With American leadership facing fierce global competition, today more than ever our nation is in need of new approaches for unleashing the creativity of our research enterprise and empowering private sector innovation to ensure American technological dominance.”

The Department of Energy will provide funding for the council and its activities.

In addition to serving the president, the PCAST will also provide advice to the National Science and Technology Council.

The post Trump relaunches advisory council for science and technology appeared first on FedScoop.

To meet the challenges at the intersection of big data and privacy, the president has tasked some of the brightest minds in the country with conducting a comprehensive review.

The group will consist of government officials who, along with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, will work with technologists, business leaders and privacy experts to discuss the privacy-security conundrum.

In his address, Obama said these individuals will “look how the challenges inherent in big data are being confronted by both the public and private sectors; whether we can forge international norms on how to manage this data; and how we can continue to promote the free flow of information in ways that are consistent with both privacy and security.”

John Podesta, counselor to the president, will lead the review of privacy and big data.

Aureus Analytics, an analytics service company that released its 2014 predictions recently, said this upcoming year will see even more of big data than previous years.

According to that forecast, tighter government controls around data privacy will result in improved data access, and even small organizations will build big data readiness into their systems.

“The combination of increased digital information and powerful supercomputers offers intelligence agencies the possibility of sifting through massive amounts of bulk data to identify patterns or pursue leads that may thwart impending threats,” Obama said in his speech. “It’s a powerful tool. But the government collection and storage of such bulk data also creates a potential for abuse.”

Bill Press, vice-chair of PCAST and professor of computer science and integrative biology at the University of Texas at Austin, told FedScoop the initiative is just getting started.

“We’re getting organized to be responsive to the president’s request,” he said.

Press indicated the effort would be over a 90-day period.

The post NSA reform calls for big data, privacy review appeared first on FedScoop.

Government accountability group applauds DATA Act passage.

NASA tests space launch system autopilot tech.

SocialGov event to focus on public prizes and competitions.

Upcoming President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology meeting.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office gets new satellite office.

Budget lessons DOD and Congress should learn.

Lasers in space:
http://youtu.be/88jhEeOtwqI

Taking control of U.S. energy future:
http://youtu.be/0bB0Cv4Oz0I

The post FedWire: DATA Act, lasers in space and budget lessons appeared first on FedScoop.

The initiative will formally launch on October 5 with a webinar, but is currently open for anyone to join. The community will meet regularly by webinar and teleconference and have access to a wiki page for discussion. Information on how to join the community can be found on the “Data Segmentation Sign Up” section of the Data Segmentation Wiki page.

The program builds on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, which recommended the development of metadata tags to be used for exchanging data across organizational structures.

The post ONC to Launch Data Segmentation Initiative appeared first on FedScoop.