AI Research Pilot Launched by NSF with USPTO as Partner

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) announced today that it is launching the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot, as directed by President Biden’s Executive Order on AI in October 2023. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is one of 10 government agencies that are partnering with NSF on the pilot.

Biden’s October Executive Order (EO) announced a series of new agency directives for managing risks related to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, prioritizing risks related to critical infrastructure, cybersecurity and consumer privacy. The EO in part directed NSF to launch a pilot for NAIRR within 90 days, which it said was “consistent with past recommendations” of a task force on the subject.

According to today’s press release, “the NAIRR pilot will provide access to advanced computing, datasets, models, software, training and user support to U.S.-based researchers and educators.” It will initially focus on advancing “safe, secure and trustworthy AI, as well as the application of AI to challenges in healthcare and environmental and infrastructure sustainability.”

The pilot will be organized into four focus areas:NAIRR Open, which will enable open AI research via the NAIRR Pilot Portal;NAIRR Secure, which will be co-led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Energy (DOE), “will enable AI research requiring privacy and security-preserving resources and will assemble exemplar privacy preserving resources”;NAIRR Software“will facilitate and investigate inter-operable use of AI software, platforms, tools and services?for NAIRR pilot resources”; andNAIRR Classroom, which “will reach new communities through education, training, user support and outreach.”

The pilot also features 25 private sector, nonprofit and philanthropic organization partners, including Google, Meta, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and OpenAI.

OpenAI has recently been hit with a slew of lawsuits by authors and other copyright owners who claim its business model of using copyrighted material to train its generative AI systems is infringing. The company has also been sued by individuals who claim OpenAI has stolen their private information to train its Large Language Models (LLMs) and that its practices are an invasion of privacy that puts consumers at risk.

The NAIRR pilot is still accepting partners. Applications can be submitted at nairr_pilot@nsf.gov.

Researchers can apply for access to the NAIRR pilot portal at nairrpilot.org

According to the announcement, a “second, broader call for proposals from the research community will be released in spring 2024, providing a mechanism for researchers to apply for access to the full suite of NAIRR pilot resources contributed by pilot partners.”