Hurd and Kelly’s national AI strategy resolution passes House
Legislation laying the foundation for a national artificial intelligence strategy passed the House unanimously Tuesday evening.
Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, coauthored the nonbinding resolution with Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill. It consists of 78 actions across four areas — workforce, national security, research and development, and ethics — the U.S. should prioritize.
Hurd hopes it will pass during Congress’ “lame duck” session — helping solidify U.S. leadership in the space before he leaves office in January.
“Most Americans are unaware we are in a generation-defining, new cold war over global leadership of advanced technology, and our success in this struggle is not guaranteed,” Hurd said in a statement. “With the improvements that technology is making in our lives on a daily basis, we are also facing significant disruption to our way of life which means American institutions must keep pace with this changing landscape.”
The Senate has yet to take up the resolution, which is based on four Bipartisan Policy Center white papers written over the course of nearly a year. Actions include increasing technology education funding, partnering with allies to prevent AI misuse by foreign adversaries like China and Russia, creating a national computing and data resource, and mitigating bias while enacting privacy legislation.
The resolution could usher in a coordinated federal approach to AI as President-elect Joe Biden takes office next month.
“This resolution clearly articulates U.S. priorities for a U.S. National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence,” Kelly said in a statement. “Since early 2018 I’ve been working with Rep. Hurd on AI issues, and I’m thrilled the House was able to pass this resolution before the end of the Congress and signal to the next administration this body’s AI priorities.”
