A bipartisan pair of representatives introduced the National Science Foundation (NSF) AI Education Act in the House last week, offering a companion to the Senate bill that was introduced earlier this year.
The bill would allow NSF to award AI scholarships to higher education students – particularly when applied to AI in agriculture, AI in education, and AI in advanced manufacturing.
In addition, the NSF AI Education Act would establish up to eight Centers of AI Excellence at community colleges to promote AI education and research.
The NSF AI Education Act was introduced in the House by Reps. Vince Fong, R-Calif., and Andrea Salinas, D-Ore., on Aug. 23. Sens. Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced the Senate version on May 23.
The bill also directs NSF to create publicly available Pre-K-12 AI education “playbooks” for introducing AI in classrooms across the country.
“This bill will help future generations learn the advantages of AI and will benefit those in industries like agriculture and manufacturing,” said Rep. Fong. “These resources will be for college students, both in their undergraduate and graduate programs, but the bill will also encourage AI learning in K-12 students and will keep America at the forefront of this cutting-edge technology. America is in a global competition, and we must prepare our local students to understand and develop the latest technologies to keep our nation strong and prosperous.”
“Artificial intelligence is much more than just chatbots and robots. In reality, AI technology has the potential to drive economic growth and transform our society for good,” said Rep. Salinas. “Our legislation would expand research on responsible AI education and focus on community and technical colleges as training centers for our emerging AI workforce.”
The Senate version of the NSF AI Education Act was approved by the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee just before the August recess. It now awaits further consideration from the full Senate.
“Artificial Intelligence has tremendous potential, but it will require a skilled and capable workforce to unlock its capabilities,” Sen. Moran said when he introduced the bill. “If we want to fully understand AI and remain globally competitive, we must invest in the future workforce today. This legislation takes an all-of-the-above approach, investing in STEM education, fellowships and hands-on-learning from kindergarten to college for students in rural areas, at community colleges and from low-income homes. Inspiration to explore and the resources to learn will help make certain the U.S. is an AI leader in the next century.”
