I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3844 To support fellowships and traineeships for early-career artificial intelligence researchers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 11, 2021 Mr. OBERNOLTE (for himself, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. LUCAS, and Ms. JOHNSON of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Science, Space, and Technology A BILL To support fellowships and traineeships for early-career artificial intelligence researchers, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fellowships and 4 Traineeships for Early-Career AI Researchers Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Artificial intelligence is a tool that has the 8 potential to change and possibly transform every 9 sector of the United States economy and society. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:29 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3844.IH H3844 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3844 IH (2) Talent is core to United States competitive- 1 ness in artificial intelligence. 2 (3) The United States education pipeline for ar- 3 tificial intelligence fields faces significant challenges. 4 (4) Artificial intelligence is increasingly becom- 5 ing a highly interdisciplinary field with expertise re- 6 quired from a diverse range of scientific and other 7 scholarly disciplines that traditionally work inde- 8 pendently and continue to face cultural and institu- 9 tional barriers to large scale collaboration. 10 (5) The Federal Government should continue to 11 play an important role in advancing research, devel- 12 opment, training, and education activities in artifi- 13 cial intelligence through coordination and collabora- 14 tion between government, academia, and the private 15 sector to train the next generation of artificial intel- 16 ligence experts. 17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 18 In this Act: 19 (1) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.—The term ‘‘ar- 20 tificial intelligence’’ has the meaning given such 21 term in section 5002 of the William M. (MAC) 22 Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for 23 Fiscal Year 2021. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:29 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3844.IH H3844 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3844 IH (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 1 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 2 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 3 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 4 SEC. 4. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TRAINEESHIPS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 6 Science Foundation shall award grants to institutions of 7 higher education to establish traineeship programs for 8 graduate students who pursue artificial intelligence-re- 9 lated research leading to a masters or doctorate degree 10 by providing funding and other assistance, and by pro- 11 viding graduate students opportunities for research experi- 12 ences in government or industry related to the students’ 13 artificial intelligence studies. 14 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—A institution of higher edu- 15 cation shall use grant funds provided under subsection (a) 16 for the purposes of— 17 (1) providing traineeships to students who are 18 pursuing research in artificial intelligence leading to 19 a masters or doctorate degree; 20 (2) paying tuition and fees for students receiv- 21 ing traineeships; 22 (3) creating and requiring courses or training 23 programs in technology ethics for students receiving 24 traineeships; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:29 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3844.IH H3844 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3844 IH (4) creating opportunities for research in tech- 1 nology ethics for students receiving traineeships; 2 (5) establishing scientific internship programs 3 for students receiving traineeships in artificial intel- 4 ligence at for-profit institutions, nonprofit research 5 institutions, or government laboratories; and 6 (6) other costs associated with the administra- 7 tion of the program. 8 SEC. 5. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FELLOWSHIPS. 9 The Director of the National Science Foundation 10 shall award fellowships to masters and doctoral students 11 and postdoctoral researchers at institutions of higher edu- 12 cation who are pursuing degrees or research in artificial 13 intelligence and related fields, including in the field of 14 technology ethics. In making such awards, the Director 15 shall conduct outreach, including through formal solicita- 16 tions, to solicit proposals from students and postdoctoral 17 researchers seeking to carry out research in aspects of 18 technology ethics with relevance to artificial intelligence 19 systems. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:29 Jun 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3844.IH H3844 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS