Schumer Calls for $32B Annually in Federal AI Nondefense Funding

The U.S. needs to spend at least $32 billion annually in nondefense money to maintain its lead in AI innovation, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor Wednesday. Schumer offered key takeaways from his latest all-Senate AI forum, which he hosted Tuesday (see 2310240057). He noted the $32 billion estimate came from the National Security Commission on AI’s 2021 report. “Just about everybody in the room” at Tuesday’s forum “agreed that $32 billion is really a floor, not a ceiling,” said Schumer. “So, we're going to need -- if we want to stay No. 1 in AI, if we want to get our arms around it, if we want to make sure the good is maximized and the bad is minimized -- we're going to need significant federal dollars.”