Sen. Maria Cantwell introduced new legislation Thursday packed with initiatives to strengthen American education and workforce training in artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state and chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, joined forces with Republican committee member Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas to propose the bipartisan measure.
“Demand for AI expertise is already high and will continue to grow,” Cantwell said in a statement. “This bill will open doors to AI for students at all levels, and upskill our workforce to drive American tech innovation, entrepreneurship and progress in solving the toughest global challenges.”
Speaking earlier this month at a Technology Alliance event in Seattle, the senator made a pitch for an “AI bill for education” on par with the G.I. Bill, which was a historic measure approved after World War II that helped millions of U.S. veterans attend college and gain professional training.
The AI bill, which is called the NSF AI Education Act of 2024, calls on the National Science Foundation (NSF) to execute numerous programs bolstering U.S. expertise in AI and quantum computing, a technology that allows for problem solving on a time scale that would be unachievable using classical computers. The proposed programs include:
- Awarding undergraduate and graduate scholarships in AI with a focus on the use of AI in agriculture, education and advanced manufacturing, as well as scholarships in quantum computing and programs that blend traditional and quantum computing.
- Providing grants for research on the use of AI in agriculture.
- Creating professional development fellowships for those working in STEM and education.
- Establishing AI “Centers of Excellence” at five or more community colleges nationwide for collaborating with educators to develop instructional materials for teaching students about AI.
- Developing guidance and tools for students to use AI in K-12 classrooms.
- Launching the “NSF Grand Challenges” to devise a plan for educating at least 1 million workers in AI by 2028. Its goals includes supporting populations such as women and rural residents who are underrepresented in tech.
Fred Humphries, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of U.S. government affairs, offered the company’s support of the proposed bill. In a statement, Humphries called the act “an important first step that will help support students, professionals and institutions, including community colleges, prepare for and leverage the opportunities brought about by AI.”
Cantwell, who was vice president of marketing for Seattle-based RealNetworks in the late 1990s, has frequently backed tech-related measures and championed Washington state tech companies.
“The entire Pacific Northwest is on the way to becoming America’s ‘Quantum Valley,’” Cantwell asserted in a statement announcing the legislation.
Microsoft, Amazon and IonQ are among the region’s companies working on quantum computing, while Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the University of Washington and Washington State University are active in the field’s research.
“This legislation provides a tremendous opportunity to strengthen efforts to educate and train the next generation of Washington students to become global leaders in AI and quantum hybrid computing,” Washington State University President Kirk Schulz said in a statement.
In April, Cantwell co-sponsored the Future of AI Innovation Act along with fellow Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, and Republican senators Ted Young of Indiana and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. The measure aims to promote U.S. leadership in AI by bolstering public-private collaborations in the field.
A 2020 AI bill sponsored by the Washington senator was not enacted, but its language was incorporated into other legislation that was approved: the National AI Initiative Act of 2020 and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.
Cantwell was a leading force two years ago in the passage of the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which includes incentives for reinvigorating semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. and invests in R&D for AI, robotics, clean energy, nuclear power, quantum computing and other areas.
Editor’s Note: Story updated 5/23 to clarify that the content of Cantwell’s 2020 AI bill did gain approval as an addition to other legislation.
