Envisioning the future of the AI research ecosystem
Editorial
PNAS Nexus. Volume 3, Issue 2, February 2024
Sethuraman Panchanathan
Extract
The time to think critically about how we responsibly and equitably develop and deploy AI is now.
Artificial intelligence is set to transform innovation, science, and society. The complexity of AI lies in integrating data, software, models, and, most importantly, human knowledge and talent. The responsibility lies with all of us to safely integrate AI systems into society and the research ecosystem. As director of the U.S. National Science Foundation, I am acutely aware of the pivotal role our agency plays in fostering AI research and development that accelerates scientific discovery, adheres to ethical and equitable best practices, and upholds our democratic values. We envision that the future AI research ecosystem will be defined by several characteristics: democratized access to computational power, data, sophisticated software, and models across academia, industry, and small businesses; interdisciplinary collaboration across the humanities, physical sciences, social sciences, and engineering disciplines; and global governance frameworks setting standards for international collaboration.