The Bipartisan House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence released its long-awaited report today. The report contains 66 key findings and 89 recommendations, organized into 15 chapters that cover a diverse array of policy areas, all to, “ensure America continues to lead the world in responsible AI innovation.” It represents the culmination of almost a year of consultations with, “business leaders, government officials, technical experts, academics, and legal scholars.” This report is similar to the Senate AI Roadmap Report released in May.

The Task Force adopted several high-level principles to frame their policy analysis:

• Identify AI Issue Novelty
• Promote AI Innovation
• Protect Against AI Risks and Harms
• Empower Government with AI
• Affirm the use of a Sectoral Regulatory Structure
• Take an Incremental Approach
• Keep Humans at the Center of AI Policy

These principles are reflected in the chapter on, “Research, Development, & Standards,” which is of most immediate importance to CRA’s members. In it, the Task Force recommends that Congress continue to monitor and evaluate the impact that AI will have on different industries and the nation as a whole. Additionally, it calls to support fundamental R&D in the field of AI at American universities. However, it does not provide a specific amount or target that Congress should aim for to support this field; in comparison, the Senate report recommended at least $32 billion a year to support non-defense AI research.

The chapter on research also contains several wide-ranging recommendations that can impact the AI research community. They cover such topics as increasing tech transfer at universities; to promoting the development of infrastructure and data to enable AI research; to continued engagement in international standards development; to promoting public-private partnerships for AI R&D.

The report has several sections on policy areas of concern around AI (such as civil right and civil liberties, education and workforce, intellectual property, and open and closed systems) to sector specific chapters (healthcare, small business, agriculture, and energy usage and data centers). At over 250 pages, it is a wide-ranging report.

The release of this report is a good step in the direction of Congress tackling the complexities of AI. However, it is not the last action. As the Task Force says in their report, this is, “certainly not the final word on AI issues for Congress. Instead, it should be viewed as a tool for identifying and evaluating AI policy proposals.”

As with the Senate’s May report, the House Task Force is sending the right signals and saying the right things about the importance of research in handling the impact of artificial intelligence on the nation. What is needed now is to follow up this report with legislative action. CRA will continue to monitor any developments in this space and will advocate for the important role that the research community plays in any policy discussions around artificial intelligence.