Booker, Rounds, Heinrich Announce Bipartisan AI Grand Challenges Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) announced the introduction of the AI Grand Challenges Act, a bipartisan bill to harness the promise of artificial intelligence to solve complex problems across a range of sectors, including health, energy, environment, national security, materials science, and cybersecurity - as well as address AI system-specific challenges like bias mitigation, content provenance, and explainability.

The bill directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish an AI Grand Challenges Program and administer prize competitions - with $1 million minimum prizes - to incentivize researchers, entrepreneurs, and innovators to harness AI to address specific and measurable challenges to benefit the United States and serve the public good.

"Grand challenges and prize competitions can encourage creative solutions to complex problems using science, technology, and innovation. The time has come for a prize program to further encourage innovation in artificial intelligence," said Senator Booker. "New Jersey has long been a hub of cutting edge research and development - from the invention of the transistor at Bell Labs in Murray Hill in the 1940s, to groundbreaking AI R&D at our companies and universities in the decades since. I'm proud to introduce this bipartisan bill with Senators Rounds and Heinrich to help harness the promise of artificial intelligence to solve pressing problems to benefit the public."

"The impact that AI has already made on our country is promising, but the potential it holds hasn't even scratched the surface," said Senator Rounds. "The ability to make headway in the fields of science, technology and especially health care will be revolutionary and could even lead to the cures of many diseases. Grand challenges have proven successful in the ways to advance towards new scientific discoveries. AI advancements will improve the quality of life for all Americans. The sky is the limit."

"AI's potential should be accessible to all Americans - not just a limited few in Silicon Valley," said Senator Heinrich. "I'm proud to cosponsor the AI Grand Challenges Act to ensure this emerging technology improves the quality of life for working families in New Mexico - from treating rare diseases to lowering costs by improving the efficiency of our electrical grid."

"Artificial intelligence is enabling new forms of complex problem solving that were not possible before - blending machine precision with human insight to surface novel solutions to hard problems. Prize competitions and challenges are proven mechanisms to induce innovation around achieving ambitious yet achievable goals. I commend Senator Booker and his colleagues for leading this well-designed bill that engages the public in the design and creates the incentives for scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, and problem-solvers to innovate for the public good," said Dr. Beth Simone Noveck, Chief Artificial Intelligence Strategist, State of New Jersey.

"Prize competitions and challenges are effective tools for spurring technological innovation and engaging citizen solvers. I appreciate Senators Booker, Rounds, and Heinrich for leading this important and thoughtful bill to harness the promise of artificial intelligence to solve big problems," said Kumar Garg, Former Senior Advisor, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Obama Administration.

"Prize competitions are an underutilized tool to encourage and incentivize open innovation, test new approaches, and widen the participant pool for diverse ideas. As AI becomes increasingly more ubiquitous, it is important that the public, private sector, and government work together to solve or advance the field in areas that matter to everyone-healthcare, energy, manufacturing, cybersecurity, and more. It is exciting to see the value and the potential of prize competitions encapsulated in this legislation," said Ali Crawford, CyberAI Research Analyst, Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET).

Grand challenges and prize competitions have been used for centuries to achieve ambitious but achievable goals. They were used in the 1700s to find a way to accurately measure the longitude of ships at sea; in the early twentieth century to advance the state of the art in aviation; and in the early twenty-first century to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicle technology.

In the past 15 years alone, the U.S. federal government has run hundreds of prize competitions. They are cost-effective because they pay only for success; they attract large and diverse groups of participants from across disciplines who are singularly focused on achieving a particular goal; and they elevate the prominence of problems that need solving.

There are notable examples that demonstrate the promise of AI to address major scientific challenges. In recent years, AI has been used to predict the 3D structure of proteins, which may improve drug discovery and lead to better treatments and cures; to discover entirely new materials that may help to improve the efficiency of batteries and superconductors; and to deliver breakthroughs in medical screening and imaging to better detect disease.

The AI Grand Challenges Act will build on this momentum and further support the development of new innovations to benefit society.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

To read a summary of the bill, click here.

Senator Booker is a member of the bipartisan Senate AI Caucus. He co-leads the bipartisan CREATE AI Act, legislation to authorize the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR), a shared research infrastructure to expand access to AI research and development tools; the Algorithmic Accountability Act, legislation to regulate powerful AI systems that are involved in making critical decisions about Americans' health, finances, employment, housing, and educational opportunities; and the REAL Political Ads Act, legislation to require a disclaimer on political ads that use images or video generated by AI. In January, he convened and chaired a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on the use of AI in criminal investigations and prosecutions. Last year, in response to a Request for Information, Senator Booker wrote to the Biden Administration to share principles and priorities to guide the Administration's national AI strategy - many of which were reflected in President Biden's Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence. He also convened leading experts for a briefing on Capitol Hill about how to encourage responsible innovation in AI and safeguard civil rights.

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