CREATE AI Act proposes shared national research to maintain safe artificial intelligence

As artificial intelligence (AI) advancements continue to develop, a bipartisan group of senators this week proposed a way to keep it advancing while also maintaining safety standards: the Creating Resources for Every American To Experiment with Artificial Intelligence Act of 2023 (CREATE AI Act).

“Artificial intelligence is already integrated into nearly every facet of our lives,” U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) said. “Recent major leaps in innovation provide great promise, but also have caused some to highlight potential risks to society. The United States cannot cede leadership in AI development, and we must harness the great potential the technology offers in order to reap its benefits and combat any potential risks. The CREATE AI Act will help us do that by establishing the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) to democratize AI safety research and serve as a testbed for the development and implementation of innovative AI practices.”

Young was joined in this proposal by fellow U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Mike Rounds (R-SD).

While much research is already being conducted into AI’s evolution, the high costs of data and infrastructure can limit participation. CREATE AI would form NAIRR as a shared national research infrastructure for AI researchers and students to use and thereby access resources, data and tools and develop AI.

“We know that AI will be enormously consequential,” Heinrich said. “If we develop and deploy this technology responsibly, it can help us augment our human creativity and make major scientific advances, while also preparing American workers for the jobs of the future. If we don’t, it could threaten our national security, intellectual property, and civil rights. The bipartisan CREATE AI Act will help us weigh these challenges and unleash American innovation by making the tools to conduct important research on this cutting-edge technology available to the best and brightest minds in our country. It will also help us prepare the future AI workforce, not just for Silicon Valley companies, but for the many industry sectors that will be transformed by AI. By truly democratizing and expanding access to AI systems, we can maintain our nation’s competitive lead while ensuring these rapid advancements are a benefit to our society and country — not a threat.”

Researchers, educators and students at higher education institutions, non-profits and federally funded agencies would gain access to computational resources such as open-source software, curated datasets, educational tools and services and even AI testbeds. These would aid goals of innovation, improved access and capacity, and support for testing and evaluation of AI systems.

The bill has also been backed by a variety of organizations, including: TechNet, the National Science Foundation (NSF), Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), Anthropic and SeedAI.