In support of Executive Order 13859, “Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence”, and The National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan: 2019 Update, NITRD worked with Federal agencies to establish a process to accurately account for AI R&D investments, given that R&D in AI intersects with multiple PCAs. (AI R&D Investments Dashboard, Table 1, footnote 4, gives examples of distinctions between AI and other PCAs.)
The FY2020 budget request set a baseline for reporting and tracking AI R&D investments, consistent with the AI Executive Order. Because of the difference in the reporting process and AI scope newly defined last year, the AI investments reported in the NITRD Supplement to The President’s FY2021 Budget are only comparable to other NITRD-reported AI investments.
AI R&D Investments Dashboard Table 1 shows two types of AI investments—those under the AI PCA and those with primary emphases in areas other than AI, which are reported in other PCAs. The FY2021 funding level shown for AI in Table 1 indicates both the nondefense Federal programs directly related to AI ($912 million) and the AI-related efforts reported in the other PCAs ($590.5 million). Together, these total a Federal FY2021 nondefense budget request in AI of $1.5 billion, a 34.4 percent increase over the FY2020 enacted investments and a 54.3 percent increase over the FY2020 budget request.
For more information on the Federal role in maintaining American leadership in AI, please see Artificial Intelligence for the American People.