(a) In general
Subject to the availability of funds appropriated for this purpose, the Director of the National Science Foundation shall establish a program to award financial assistance for the planning, establishment, and support of a network of Institutes (as described in subsection (b)(2)) in accordance with this section.
(b) Financial assistance to establish and support National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes
(1) In general
Subject to the availability of funds appropriated for this purpose, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Commerce, the Director of the National Science Foundation, and every other agency head may award financial assistance to an eligible entity, or consortia thereof, as determined by an agency head, to establish and support an Institute.
(2) Artificial intelligence institutes
An Institute described in this subsection is an artificial intelligence research institute that—
(A) is focused on—
(i) a particular economic or social sector, including health, education, manufacturing, agriculture, security, energy, and environment, and includes a component that addresses the ethical, societal, safety, and security implications relevant to the application of artificial intelligence in that sector; or
(ii) a cross-cutting challenge for artificial intelligence systems, including trustworthiness, or foundational science;
(B) requires partnership among public and private organizations, including, as appropriate, Federal agencies, institutions of higher education, including community colleges, nonprofit research organizations, Federal laboratories, State, local, and Tribal governments, industry, including startup companies, and civil society organizations, including civil rights and disability rights organizations (or consortia thereof);
(C) has the potential to create an innovation ecosystem, or enhance existing ecosystems, to translate Institute research into applications and products, as appropriate to the topic of each Institute;
(D) supports interdisciplinary research and development across multiple institutions of higher education and organizations;
(E) supports interdisciplinary education activities, including curriculum development, research experiences, and faculty professional development across undergraduate, graduate, and professional academic programs; and
(F) supports workforce development in artificial intelligence related disciplines in the United States, including increasing participation of historically underrepresented communities.
(3) Use of funds
Financial assistance awarded under paragraph (1) may be used by an Institute for—
(A) managing and making available to researchers accessible, curated, standardized, secure, and privacy protected data sets from the public and private sectors for the purposes of training and testing artificial intelligence systems and for research using artificial intelligence systems, pursuant to subsections (c), (e), and (f) of section
278h–1 of this title (as added by section
5301 of this division);
(B) developing and managing testbeds for artificial intelligence systems, including sector-specific test beds, designed to enable users to evaluate artificial intelligence systems prior to deployment;
(C) conducting research and education activities involving artificial intelligence systems to solve challenges with social, economic, health, scientific, and national security implications;
(D) providing or brokering access to computing resources, networking, and data facilities for artificial intelligence research and development relevant to the Institute's research goals;
(E) providing technical assistance to users, including software engineering support, for artificial intelligence research and development relevant to the Institute's research goals;
(F) engaging in outreach and engagement to broaden participation in artificial intelligence research and the artificial intelligence workforce; and
(G) such other activities that an agency head, whose agency's missions contribute to or are affected by artificial intelligence, considers consistent with the purposes described in section
9411(a) of this title.
(4) Duration
(A) Initial periods
An award of financial assistance under paragraph (1) shall be awarded for an initial period of 5 years.
(B) Extension
An established Institute may apply for, and the agency head may grant, extended funding for periods of 5 years on a merit-reviewed basis using the merit review criteria of the sponsoring agency.
(5) Application for financial assistance
A person seeking financial assistance under paragraph (1) shall submit to an agency head an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the agency head may require.
(6) Competitive, merit review
In awarding financial assistance under paragraph (1), the agency head shall—
(A) use a competitive, merit review process that includes peer review by a diverse group of individuals with relevant expertise from both the private and public sectors; and
(B) ensure the focus areas of the Institute do not substantially and unnecessarily duplicate the efforts of any other Institute.
(7) Collaboration
(A) In general
In awarding financial assistance under paragraph (1), an agency head may collaborate with Federal departments and agencies whose missions contribute to or are affected by artificial intelligence systems.
(B) Coordinating network
The Director of the National Science Foundation shall establish a network of Institutes receiving financial assistance under this subsection, to be known as the "Artificial Intelligence Leadership Network", to coordinate cross-cutting research and other activities carried out by the Institutes.
(8) Limitation
No funds authorized in this subchapter shall be awarded to Institutes outside of the United States. All awardees and subawardees for such Institute shall be based in the United States, in addition to any other eligibility criteria as established by each agency head.