White House Seeks Doubled AI and Quantum Funding Amid Broader Science Cuts
The Trump administration proposes doubling civilian AI and quantum computing spending to over $2 billion by 2022 while making deep cuts to other scientific research.
The White House proposes a major increase in government spending on artificial intelligence and quantum computing, aiming to double civilian funding to over $2 billion annually by 2022. This budget request includes a 70% year-over-year boost for the National Science Foundation's AI programs, bringing its total to over $830 million, along with significant funding increases for the Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health to apply AI to chronic disease research.
This targeted technology investment comes with steep cuts to other scientific fields. The proposal reduces the Environmental Protection Agency's budget by 26% and slashes its science and technology funding by 33%, while the Energy Department faces a 17% overall cut to its Office of Science despite the specific AI funding increase.
Experts offer mixed reactions to the tradeoff. Carnegie Mellon professor Sridhar Tayur praises the focus on transformative infrastructure that tech giants neglect, but policy analyst Martijn Rasser expresses concern that concentrating funds so heavily into these specific areas represents a dangerous gamble for the broader scientific community.