Trump administration commits $5B to AI research under 'Genesis Mission'
What's the story
The US government has announced a massive investment of $5 billion into artificial intelligence (AI) research. The initiative, led by the Department of Energy, aims to harness AI's potential to speed up scientific research. Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, made the announcement on Wednesday. The funding is part of a broader strategy by the Trump administration to prioritize federal science spending toward AI-powered projects and individual researchers over traditional institutions like universities.
Initiative details
Funding to support 278 projects across various fields
The funding will support 278 projects selected from over 5,000 applications under an initiative called the Genesis Mission.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced this at a summit on Wednesday.
"Through the Genesis Mission, we are bringing together the nation's leading researchers, institutions, and technology partners to build the next generation of scientific capability," said Dario Gil, Under Secretary for Science.
The projects cover a range of fields including biomedical research, national security, and quantum computing.
Project highlights
Largest funding award is a $60 million investment
The largest funding award under the Genesis Mission is a $60 million investment aimed at using AI tools to establish nuclear energy facilities and reduce operational costs.
This marks a major step toward incorporating advanced technology into traditional industries.
The initiative was launched by an executive order in November and is part of a broader shift in the federal government's approach to scientific research, Kratsios said at the summit.
Funding shift
Shift in federal government's approach to scientific research
In a report titled "Science: A New Golden Age," Kratsios urged that government funding for research should be increasingly directed toward AI and individual researchers rather than universities.
"The Genesis Mission, in particular, is the culmination of the reforms suggested in that report," he said.
The initiative will involve 15 federal agencies, making it one of the largest cross-government AI research efforts in the US.
Data access
Access to advanced computing resources and government datasets
The initiative will give scientists access to advanced computing resources from the US Department of Energy, including supercomputers, specialized AI tools, and large government datasets for training advanced AI models.
The US government holds massive datasets covering areas such as healthcare, chemicals, and critical minerals.
Officials believe these could help train AI models to identify patterns, generate predictions, and answer scientific questions faster than conventional research methods.