[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 139 (Friday, July 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39081-39082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15660]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY


Request for Information (RFI) on an Implementation Plan for a 
National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource

AGENCY: White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and 
National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National 
Science Foundation are issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to 
inform the work of the National Artificial Intelligence Research 
Resource (NAIRR) Task Force (``Task Force''). The Task Force has been 
directed by Congress to develop an implementation roadmap for a shared 
research infrastructure that would provide Artificial Intelligence (AI) 
researchers and students across scientific disciplines with access to 
computational resources, high-quality data, educational tools, and user 
support.

DATES: To be considered, responses and comments must be received, no 
later than 11:59 p.m., EDT on September 1, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted in response to this notice may be sent by 
any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Email submissions should 
be machine-readable and not be copy-protected. Submissions should 
include ``RFI Response: National AI Research Resource'' in the subject 
line of the message.
     Mail: Attn: Wendy Wigen, NCO, 2415 Eisenhower 
Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA.
    Instructions: Response to this RFI is voluntary. Each individual or 
institution is requested to submit only one response. Submissions must 
be in 12 point or larger font, include a page number on each page, and 
not exceed 10 pages. Responses should include the name of the person(s) 
or organization(s) filing the comment. Responses should refer to the 
particular topic number(s) and letter(s), as listed below, to which the 
comments pertain.
    Responses to this RFI may be posted online at www.ai.gov. 
Therefore, responses must be appropriate for posting publicly without 
change or redaction, and we request that no business proprietary 
information, copyrighted information, or personally identifiable 
information be submitted in response to this RFI.
    In accordance with FAR 15.202(3), responses to this notice are not 
offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding 
contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated 
with responding to this RFI.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wendy Wigen and [email protected], (202) 459-9683. Individuals who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 
p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Congress directed the National Science Foundation (NSF), in 
coordination with the White House Office of Science and Technology 
Policy (OSTP), to establish the NAIRR Task Force in the William M. 
(Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2021, Public Law 116-283 Sec.  5106, and in accordance with the 
provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The mandate of the 
Task Force is to investigate the feasibility and advisability of 
establishing and sustaining a NAIRR and propose a roadmap detailing how 
such a resource should be established and sustained.
    The NAIRR is envisioned as a shared computing and data 
infrastructure that would provide AI researchers and students across 
scientific fields with access to a holistic advanced computing 
ecosystem. This would include secure, privacy-preserving frameworks; 
high-quality, representative datasets; and appropriate educational 
tools and user support mechanisms. The goal for such a national 
resource is to democratize access to the cyberinfrastructure that fuels 
AI research and development, enabling all of America's diverse AI 
researchers to fully participate in

[[Page 39082]]

exploring innovative ideas for advancing AI, including communities, 
institutions, and regions that have been traditionally underserved--
especially with regard to AI research and related education 
opportunities.
    Composed of members from government, academia, and the private 
sector, the NAIRR Task Force is required to submit an interim report to 
Congress and the President by May 2022, with a final report to be 
issued in November 2022. Find more information on the Task Force 
members and upcoming meetings at AI.gov.
    As outlined in Sec.  5106(b) of Public Law 116-283, the 
implementation roadmap developed by the Task Force should include the 
following:
    A. Goals for establishment and sustainment of a National Artificial 
Intelligence Research Resource and metrics for success;
    B. A plan for ownership and administration of the National 
Artificial Intelligence Research Resource, including:
    i. An appropriate agency or organization responsible for the 
implementation, deployment and administration of the Research Resource; 
and
    ii. A governance structure for the Research Resource, including 
oversight and decision-making authorities;
    C. A model for governance and oversight to establish strategic 
direction, make programmatic decisions, and manage the allocation of 
resources;
    D. Capabilities required to create and maintain a shared computing 
infrastructure to facilitate access to advanced computing resources for 
researchers across the country, including provision of curated data 
sets, compute resources, educational tools and services, a user-
interface portal, secure access control, resident expertise, and 
scalability of such infrastructure;
    E. An assessment of, and recommended solutions to, barriers to the 
dissemination and use of high-quality government data sets as part of 
the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource;
    F. An assessment of security requirements associated with the 
National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource and its management 
of access controls;
    G. An assessment of privacy and civil rights and civil liberties 
requirements associated with the National Artificial Intelligence 
Research Resource and its research;
    H. A plan for sustaining the National Artificial Intelligence 
Research Resource, including through Federal funding and partnerships 
with the private sector; and
    I. Parameters for the establishment and sustainment of the National 
Artificial Intelligence Research Resource, including agency roles and 
responsibilities.
    This RFI seeks input from a broad array of stakeholders on the 
topics set forth below. Comments from the public will be used to inform 
the Task Force's consideration of options and development of an 
implementation roadmap.
    Responders are invited to provide answers to the following 
questions (please number your responses accordingly):
    1. What options should the Task Force consider for any of roadmap 
elements A through I above, and why? [Please take care to annotate your 
responses to this question by indicating the letter(s) of the item (A 
through I in the list above) for which you are identifying options.]
    2. Which capabilities and services (see, for example, item D above) 
provided through the NAIRR should be prioritized?
    3. How can the NAIRR and its components reinforce principles of 
ethical and responsible research and development of AI, such as those 
concerning issues of racial and gender equity, fairness, bias, civil 
rights, transparency, and accountability?
    4. What building blocks already exist for the NAIRR, in terms of 
government, academic, or private-sector activities, resources, and 
services?
    5. What role should public-private partnerships play in the NAIRR? 
What exemplars could be used as a model?
    6. Where do you see limitations in the ability of the NAIRR to 
democratize access to AI R&D? And how could these limitations be 
overcome?
    Submitted by the National Science Foundation and the White House 
Office of Science and Technology Policy on July 19, 2021.

Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.

Stacy Murphy,
Operations Manager, White House Office of Science and Technology 
Policy.
[FR Doc. 2021-15660 Filed 7-22-21; 8:45 am]
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