WSJ: Quantum, AI R&D Funding to Remain Key Priorities Under Biden

(WSJ) Artificial intelligence and quantum information science are expected to remain key priorities for the U.S. under a Joe Biden presidency, but his spending and regulatory approaches are expected to differ from that of President Trump. WSJ’s always excellent Sara Castellanos has interviewed numerous sources for this article and also researched campaign and government websites which she references. IQT News summarizes here.
The Biden administration is expected to invest more money in AI and quantum information science, in part because overall spending on research and development is expected to be higher, said Robert D. Atkinson, president of the ITIF.
The Biden campaign, which didn’t respond to a request for comment, is proposing innovation funding of $300 billion over four years, in addition to federal research and development spending, in part to remain competitive with China. That money would be spent in part on efforts to spur advances in technologies such as AI, quantum computing, clean energy and 5G, according to the campaign’s website.
The Trump administration’s 2020 budget provides $134.1 billion for total federal research and development. The administration proposed $142.2 billion in total federal research and development spending for fiscal year 2021.
Castellanos closes with this from IBM’s Dario Gil. “Cutting-edge technologies such as AI and quantum computing have the ability to “catalyze economic growth and unlock new areas of discovery and opportunity,” said Dario Gil, director of IBM Research and a member of the National Science Board. “U.S. policy must be a catalyst and a champion of this movement to ensure American leadership, security and prosperity,” he said in an email.
Click through to WSJ source for full text; IQT News summarizes.