- A steady drumbeat from some of the most influential executives in the technology industry has emerged in recent months to push the idea that the U.S. government should invest in a “national research cloud”.
- It’s an idea that has been backed by a government commission that recommended that the Biden administration create a hub for U.S. research into artificial intelligence.
- Whittaker pointed out that the Biden administration pledged in July to rein in a “small number of dominant Internet platforms” that use their power to “extract monopoly profits.”
In recent months, a steady drumbeat from some of the technology industry’s most powerful executives has emerged to promote the idea of the US government investing in a “national research cloud” — a hub for US artificial intelligence research where researchers from academia and smaller tech companies could share data sets and other resources as reported by NBC News.
A New Plan
A proposal to build a national research centre has some artificial intelligence professionals concerned, fearing that it will entrench the power of huge corporations.
It’s a proposal sponsored by a government group led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and featuring CEOs from Amazon, Microsoft, and Oracle, which suggested that the Biden administration establish a centre for artificial intelligence research in the United States.
“We should be able to keep up with China.”
In general, we think that we are one to two years ahead of China in this field.
In an interview with NBC News, Schmidt stated, “I hope that’s accurate.”
However, the idea has been met with new opposition this month.
Subsidy to Tech Companies
They claim it’s a battle and nothing more than a cash grab by the next generation of military contractors.
“What this effectively is, is a subsidy to huge tech corporations,” said Meredith Whittaker, a co-founder of NYU’s AI Now Institute, an artificial intelligence research centre.
Whittaker, a former Google researcher, was engaged within the firm and is now speaking out against its treatment of AI ethics.
The Biden administration committed in July to rein in a “small number of powerful Internet platforms” that use their influence to “extract monopoly revenues,” according to Whittaker.
“We need to break out of these narrow frames that are set by self-interested tech oligarchs,” she said.
Cutting-Edge Computing Power
The idea of a national cloud for AI has been floating around for years as a way to supply cutting-edge computing capacity to academic researchers and others who don’t work for Google or Amazon, who have specialised and lucrative cloud computing departments.
Some Americans believe that Chinese researchers have an advantage in AI development because they have access to massive, government-approved data sets.
The AI Now Institute and Data & Society submitted written comments on the idea earlier this month.
They contended that the national cloud strategy would enable huge computer companies to consolidate power and that a Cold War-style battle with China would be deceptive and dangerous.
In an interview, Brittany Smith, policy director for Data & Society, remarked.
Restriction on Influence of Companies
Other organisations have expressed their scepticism.
In written comments this month, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington-based advocacy organisation, argued that the government should “put tight constraints on the influence of firms participating,” in part to defend civil rights.
“Academics and government funding bodies that are involved will drive it,” he said.
He also stated that no single cloud-services supplier should have a dominant position.
We don’t want to live in a world where researchers are tethered to specific clouds.
Bipartite Agreement
A measure to create a national cloud received bipartisan backing in Congress last year, as well as support from IT corporations and several prominent research colleges.
In March, a congressional committee chaired by Schmidt included a national cloud as one of its suggestions for winning the AI arms race with China.
Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, and Google and Microsoft executives were among the members of the commission.
Amazon, Microsoft, and Oracle representatives did not respond to queries for comment.
Commercial cloud computing services are already in use by the federal government.
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Source: NBC News
