As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve and its associated risks increase, AI research company Anthropic is calling for $15 million in funding to be allocated to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to help the agency promote safe technological innovation.
This call-to-action memo was published just two days after a budget hearing about 2024 funding of the U.S Department of Commerce, wherein there was a bipartisan show of support to keep American leadership in the development of critical technologies. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, NIST has been in the industry for several years, focusing on the measurement and development of AI standards.
Anthropic believes that increasing NIST’s federal funding will be immensely beneficial and can act as a tool to channel the support for safe AI innovations. The memo states that such a decision would be “one of the best ways to channel that support” in order to efficiently process and execute its principal objectives.
There have been other ambitious proposals and initiatives regarding AI, such as calls for an international agency, creating a regulatory regime, and a letter to “pause” AI development. Anthropic’s memo, however, proposes a simpler and more direct approach that can easily be implemented.
Jack Clark, the co-founder of Anthropic, stated that the organization is publishing the memo to create more awareness, and to persuade other companies, academics, and AI stakeholders to join the conversation. He also inquired that this may be a good opportunity for policymakers to be “ambitious about this funding,” since most people are gradually becoming conscious about the risks of AI.
Anthropic is a tech company founded by Jack Clark, along with other members of the OpenAI organization. The start-up focuses on funding large language models (LLMs) and seeks to expand its capabilities to develop AI systems while availing more investment opportunities.
Jack Clark is a prominent advocate for AI policy and regulation, having previously contributed at OpenAI. Clark was also a part of the AI Revolution advisory board of The Verge, and is now involved in initiatives to write and publish about AI policy.
Sufficient funding for the NIST is the key to achieving success for AI measurement, evaluation, and development. With more people involved in the AI conversation, Clark believes that government and industry can work together towards creating a better infrastructure and promote transparency with regards to systems and datasets used in AI.
Anthropic’s memo is making a stand to provide more support and funding for NIST, so that the agency can provide a medium for academic, industry, and government authorities to work hand-in-hand in developing innovative AI systems with safety as the core focus.
