15 USC 9462 - Veterans’ health initiative

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§ 9461. Department of Energy artificial intelligence research program
§ 9462. Veterans’ health initiative

§ 9461. Department of Energy artificial intelligence research program

(a) In general

(b) Research areasIn carrying out the program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall award financial assistance to eligible entities to carry out research projects on topics including—

(1) the application of artificial intelligence systems to improve large-scale simulations of natural and other phenomena;

(2) the study of applied mathematics, computer science, and statistics, including foundations of methods and systems of artificial intelligence, causal and statistical inference, and the development of algorithms for artificial intelligence systems;

(3) the analysis of existing large-scale datasets from science and engineering experiments and simulations, including energy simulations and other priorities at the Department as determined by the Secretary using artificial intelligence tools and techniques;

(4) the development of operation and control systems that enhance automated, intelligent decisionmaking capabilities;

(5) the development of advanced computing hardware and computer architecture tailored to artificial intelligence systems, including the codesign of networks and computational hardware;

(6) the development of standardized datasets for emerging artificial intelligence research fields and applications, including methods for addressing data scarcity; and

(7) the development of trustworthy artificial intelligence systems, including—

(A) algorithmic explainability;

(B) analytical methods for identifying and mitigating bias in artificial intelligence systems; and

(d) Facility use and upgradesIn carrying out the program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—

(1) make available high-performance computing infrastructure at national laboratories;

(2) make any upgrades necessary to enhance the use of existing computing facilities for artificial intelligence systems, including upgrades to hardware;

(3) establish new computing capabilities necessary to manage data and conduct high performance computing that enables the use of artificial intelligence systems; and

(4) maintain and improve, as needed, networking infrastructure, data input and output mechanisms, and data analysis, storage, and service capabilities.

(e) Report on ethics statements

(f) Risk management

(g) Data privacy and sharing

(h) Partnerships with other Federal agencies

(i) Stakeholder engagementIn carrying out the activities authorized in this section, the Secretary shall—

(1) collaborate with a range of stakeholders including small businesses, institutes of higher education, industry, and the National Laboratories;

(2) leverage the collective body of knowledge from existing artificial intelligence and machine learning research; and

(3) engage with other Federal agencies, research communities, and potential users of information produced under this section.

(j) DefinitionsIn this section:

(1) Secretary

(2) Department

(3) National laboratory

(4) Eligible entitiesThe term “eligible entities” means—

(A) an institution of higher education;

(B) a National Laboratory;

(D) a State research agency;

(E) a nonprofit research organization;

(F) a private sector entity; or

(G) a consortium of 2 or more entities described in subparagraphs (A) through (F).

(k) Authorization of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to the Department to carry out this section—

(1) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2021;

(2) $214,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;

(3) $228,980,000 for fiscal year 2023;

(4) $245,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and

(5) $262,160,000 for fiscal year 2025.

(Pub. L. 116–283, div. E, title LV, § 5501, Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4545.)

§ 9462. Veterans’ health initiative

(a) Purposes

The purposes of this section are to advance Department of Energy expertise in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing in order to improve health outcomes for veteran populations by—

(1) supporting basic research through the application of artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, modeling and simulation, machine learning, and large-scale data analytics to identify and solve outcome-defined challenges in the health sciences;

(2) maximizing the impact of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ health and genomics data housed at the National Laboratories, as well as data from other sources, on science, innovation, and health care outcomes through the use and advancement of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing capabilities of the Department;

(3) promoting collaborative research through the establishment of partnerships to improve data sharing between Federal agencies, National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit institutions;

(4) establishing multiple scientific computing user facilities to house and provision available data to foster transformational outcomes; and

(5) driving the development of technology to improve artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and networking relevant to mission applications of the Department, including modeling, simulation, machine learning, and advanced data analytics.

(b) Veterans health research and development

(1) In general

(2) Program components

In carrying out the program established under paragraph (1), the Secretary may—

(A) conduct basic research in modeling and simulation, machine learning, large-scale data analytics, and predictive analysis in order to develop novel or optimized algorithms for prediction of disease treatment and recovery;

(B) develop methods to accommodate large data sets with variable quality and scale, and to provide insight and models for complex systems;

(C) develop new approaches and maximize the use of algorithms developed through artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, natural language processing, modeling and simulation, and develop new algorithms suitable for high-performance computing systems and large biomedical data sets;

(D) advance existing and construct new data enclaves capable of securely storing data sets provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, and other sources; and

(E) promote collaboration and data sharing between National Laboratories, research entities, and user facilities of the Department by providing the necessary access and secure data transfer capabilities.

(3) Coordination

In carrying out the program established under paragraph (1), the Secretary is authorized—

(A) to enter into memoranda of understanding in order to carry out reimbursable agreements with the Department of Veterans Affairs and other entities in order to maximize the effectiveness of Department research and development to improve veterans’ healthcare;

(B) to consult with the Department of Veterans Affairs and other Federal agencies as appropriate; and

(C) to ensure that data storage meets all privacy and security requirements established by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and that access to data is provided in accordance with relevant Department of Veterans Affairs data access policies, including informed consent.

(4) Report

Not later than 2 years after December 27, 2020, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives, a report detailing the effectiveness of—

(A) the interagency coordination between each Federal agency involved in the research program carried out under this subsection;

(B) collaborative research achievements of the program; and

(5) Funding

(1) In general

(2) Activities

In carrying out the research, development, and demonstration activities authorized under paragraph (1), the Secretary may—

(A) utilize all available mechanisms to prevent duplication and coordinate research efforts across the Department;

(B) establish multiple user facilities to serve as data enclaves capable of securely storing data sets created by Federal agencies, institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, or industry at National Laboratories; and

(C) promote collaboration and data sharing between National Laboratories, research entities, and user facilities of the Department by providing the necessary access and secure data transfer capabilities.

(3) Report

(4) Funding

(d) Definition

(Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title IX, § 9008, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2600.)