Sens. Moran, Cantwell Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Bolster AI Education & Career Development

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Committee, yesterday introduced the NSF AI Education Act. This bipartisan legislation would expand scholarship and professional development opportunities in artificial intelligence (AI) with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF). These efforts would include undergraduate and graduate scholarships specifically focused on the use of AI in agriculture, education and advanced manufacturing.

"The future of our state depends on a strong workforce that is equipped with the tools needed to meet tomorrow's challenges," said Sen. Moran. "As the capabilities of AI increase, we must make certain the next generation can utilize its full potential, supporting a strong economy, building thriving communities and maintaining America's global leadership. Through investments in STEM education, fellowships and hands-on-learning from kindergarten to college, this legislation takes an all-of-the-above approach that will provide critical opportunities to students from all across the country."

"By authorizing scholarships, fellowships, AI Centers of Excellence and a new grant program focused on land-grant universities, this bill will open doors to AI for students at all levels and will give our workforce the skills they need to continue to drive American tech innovation and entrepreneurship," said Sen. Cantwell. "Demand for AI expertise is already high and will continue to grow, and we must meet that demand if we are to out-compete China and make the American AI tech stack the global standard."

Specifically, the NSF AI Education Act would:

• Authorize NSF to award undergraduate and graduate scholarships for students to study AI;
• Authorize the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in collaboration with NSF, to provide grants for AI research, development and agriculture training through land-grant universities and the Cooperative Extension Service;
• Create a minimum of five Centers of AI Excellence at community colleges and vocational schools across the country, in coordination with the Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program from the CHIPS & Science Act;
• Establish NSF Grand Challenges to assist in developing strategies to educate 1 million or more U.S. workers on AI by 2030; and
• Instruct NSF to collaborate with educators and academics and to lead research on AI in the classroom.

Full text of the legislation can be found here.

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