The National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office launched a new area of resources for AI researchers to offer convenient access to data sets and testbed settings for AI application training.
Officials classified it as “a central connection to many federally-supported resources for America’s AI research community” during its inauguration on Twitter. The available tools on the page include funding and grant information, datasets, computing resources, a research program directory, and a testbed selection.
Researchers working on AI projects can improve their studies and projects by using higher-quality data from federal agencies such as NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Institutes Health once they have access to these resources.
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The portal complies with provisions in the overarching National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act, which mandates NAIIO leadership to “promote access to and early adoption of technologies, innovations, lessons learned, and expertise derived from Initiative activities to agency missions and systems across the federal government.”
In a press release, current NAIIO Director Lynne Parker stated that the portal’s purpose is to assist U.S. academics in advancing their AI projects using available government funding. “We hope that the AI Researchers Portal will help U.S. researchers more easily navigate and connect with available resources that will make them more productive and successful in advancing the state of the art in AI and related fields,” Parker concluded.
Apart from public datasets and several testbed environment options, the portal also provides academics with a list of AI research projects underway with government organizations that may be open to collaboration. NIST’s Network Modeling for Public Safety Communications and the NIH’s Graduate Data Science Summer Program are two such research programs.
The NAIIO was established during former President Donald Trump’s administration and is now part of the Biden-Harris administration’s AI goals, including continuing efforts to make federal AI resources more accessible to the general public.
