. It’s great to be back in your inboxes during this busy week for tech policy news! As always, send tips toLeading AI companies, universities and civil society groups on Tuesday called Congress to expand funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the decaying federal agency at the heart of the Biden administration’s ambitious plans to evaluate a new generation of artificial intelligence models.
Black mold has forced some workers out of their offices, and leaky ceilings have damaged expensive lab equipment. Because weak internet connections in some buildings don’t allow for the sending of large files, some employees have to carry hard drives around campus. In response to The Post’s findings, the Commerce Department has said that the AI staff will be working in well-equipped offices on the Gaithersburg campus, the Commerce Department’s D.C.
Yet even as AI initiatives emerge as a priority, NIST’s overall budget has been cut by about 10 percent since the previous fiscal year, the letter notes, warning that this cut “presents major operational challenges to NIST’s efforts to sustainably guide responsible development of AI systems.”