The U.S. National Science Foundation, in collaboration with 10 federal agencies and 25 private and nonprofit organizations, has initiated the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot.
The program is designed to democratize access to advanced AI resources, such as computing power, datasets, and expertise, thereby fostering a more inclusive and competitive AI environment in the United States.
The Mission and Vision of NAIRR: The NAIRR pilot provides U.S.-based researchers and educators with advanced tools necessary for AI discovery and innovation, fostering a more inclusive and competitive AI landscape in the United States. NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan emphasizes the project’s role in maintaining U.S. leadership in AI and creating opportunities nationwide.
Arati Prabhakar, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, highlights the pilot’s alignment with President Biden’s vision for responsible AI, ensuring broad societal benefits.
Collaboration Across Sectors: This cross-sector collaboration, involving industry leaders and government agencies, aims to develop commercially viable AI applications, driving economic growth and creating new markets.
Key government partners in this initiative include:
- U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Prominent private and nonprofit partners contributing to the project include:
AI2, Amazon Web Services (AWS) – part of Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, Anthropic, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD, Cerebras, Databricks, Datavant, EleutherAI, Alphabet Inc. GOOGL’s Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise HPE, Hugging Face, IBM IBM, Intel Corporation INTC, Meta Platforms, Inc. META, Microsoft Corporation MSFT, MLCommons, NVIDIA Corporation NVDA, Omidyar Network, OpenAI, OpenMined, Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR, Regenstrief Institute, SambaNova Systems, Vocareum, and Weights & Biases.
Focus Areas and Applications: The NAIRR pilot will focus on several areas: NAIRR Open, NAIRR Secure, NAIRR Software, and NAIRR Classroom.
Each of these segments targets specific domains of AI research and education, with a particular emphasis on developing safe, secure, and trustworthy AI. Application areas span healthcare, environmental sustainability, and education, highlighting the initiative’s comprehensive approach to AI development.
The initiative is in line with Executive Order 14110 signed by President Biden, which mandated the NSF to launch the NAIRR pilot within 90 days.
Company Remarks
Leading tech companies aligned with the NAIRR pilot, sharing their enthusiasm and commitment.
- AMD president Victor Peng highlighted the chipmaker’s role: "In anticipation of the profound impact of AI in fields such as research, healthcare, and security, AMD is proud to partner with the NAIRR task force, supplying hardware, software, and expertise to enhance research. We are committed to supporting AI-driven scientific breakthroughs, believing in their potential to deliver global benefits."
- IBM senior VP Darío Gil commented: “IBM strongly supports the creation and funding of the National AI Research Resource and its mission of bringing together computing power, data, resources, people, and expertise to advance leading-edge AI research in the U.S. The NAIRR will broaden affordable access to the computational power and datasets necessary to develop and evaluate AI systems and tools, and it will accelerate the scientific research necessary to help the U.S. stay globally competitive in AI.”
- Nick Clegg, president of global affairs at Meta Platforms: "Making sure researchers have open access to cutting-edge AI technology is crucial to ensuring AI is developed responsibly. Meta has pioneered open AI innovation for more than a decade, which is why we're enthusiastic supporters of the NAIRR initiative."
- Microsoft’s chief scientific officer Eric Horvitz, focused on expanding AI research access: “We’re excited to support the National AI Research Resource pilot, a pivotal step in broadening AI research access.”
- Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, remarked the AI potential: “AI is increasingly defining our era, and its potential can best be fulfilled with broad access to its transformative capabilities.”
- From Palantir’s perspective, Hirsh Jain, head of public health, underscored the practical benefits of the project: “Bringing AI-driven tools to government and academia offers the opportunity to improve health outcomes by increasing the speed they will be able to access information and surface new insights.”
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