The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is committed to facilitating a new era of transportation innovation and safety and ensuring that our country remains a leader in automation. It is acting as a convener and facilitator, partnering with a broad coalition of industry, academic, states and local, safety advocacy, and transportation stakeholders to support the safe development, testing, and deployment of automated vehicle technology. Recently, the DOT put out a request for public comment on the document, Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0 (AV 3.0). This document builds upon Automated Driving Systems: A Vision for Safety 2.0 and expands the scope to all surface on-road transportation systems, and was developed through the input […]

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) just released a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) on Machine Common Sense (MCS) with a December 18, 2018, response date. DARPA is soliciting innovative research proposals in the area of machine common sense to enable Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications to understand new situations, monitor the reasonableness of their actions, communicate more effectively with people, and transfer learning to new domains. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Machine common sense has long been a critical—but missing—component of AI. Recent advances in machine learning have resulted in exciting new capabilities, but machine reasoning remains narrow and highly specialized. Developers must carefully train or […]

The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) will hold a visioning workshop in Atlanta, GA on March 14-15, 2019 to discuss and articulate research visions for authoring rich media content for new workforce training. The workshop aims to articulate research challenges and needs and to summarize the current state of the practice in this area. This workshop is in response to growing needs in the field and new research programs such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier: Advancing Cognitive and Physical Capabilities (FW-HTF). Historically, materials such as books and movies were used in addition to hands-on experiences for education and practical training. Increasingly, various other types of computer generated […]

The following is a letter to the community from James Kurose, Assistant Director, and Erwin Gianchandani, Deputy Assistant Director, of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate of Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE).  Dear CISE Community, The National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is an important but, from our experience, an often overlooked funding opportunity for the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) community.  The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported areas who are pursing full-time, research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions.  As the deadline of October 23, 2018, approaches for applicants who fall within CISE fields of study, we want to be sure you all – […]

On October 24, 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine‘s Forum on Aging, Disability, and Independence will host a workshop in Washington, DC that will explore the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to foster a balance of safety and autonomy for older adults and people with disabilities who strive to live as independently as possible.  AI offers the possibility to greatly benefit Americans who are older than 65 or those who are living with a disability. AI systems present the potential for improving accessibility and transportation systems; increasing social connections; and lowering health care costs. However, there is a significant lack of evidence about the impact of such technologies, which points to a need […]

Last Thursday, Politico held an AI Summit: Innovation and Governance as “a global leadership gathering of policymakers, business leaders and experts for solutions-driven conversations on the impact of AI on governments, industries and society.” Some notable government participants included Representative Will Hurd (Texas), France Córdova (National Science Foundation), and Stacy Dixon (Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity). In his opening remarks, Hurd said that we need to “double down on basic research.”  The problem with basic research is that “often times it is hard to understand the return on investment of basic research. People believe the government should have the same returns as venture capital, private equity, but that’s just not possible. […]