Intel, Nvidia Execs Call for Increased Gov’t Focus on AI

Executives from Intel and Nvidia have expressed concerns that the government is not doing enough to drive innovation in artificial intelligence, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Anthony Robbins, vice president of Nvidia’s North American public sector and two-time Wash100 winner, said the federal government’s projected $1B spending for nondefense AI capabilities is “not nearly enough” and that it needs to put focus on AI training efforts.

“A big miss for the U.S. is the failure to have robust national privacy legislation,” noted Jackie Medecki, director and managing attorney at Intel’s AI and healthcare policy segment. According to Medecki, having a unified privacy law instead of disparate state regulations would promote trust in AI and how data is used.

Robbins and Medecki’s comments come after Michael Kratsios, the federal chief technology officer and a 2019 Wash100 winner, announced the potential $1B funding for AI outlined in the supplemental report to President Trump’s budget request.

“Too often, the conversation focuses almost exclusively not on where America is dominant, but instead on the alleged disparity in government spending on AI R&D,” he said.