[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4664 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4664
To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to promote
the use of artificial intelligence to support the missions of the
Department of Energy, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 10, 2024
Mr. Manchin (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to promote
the use of artificial intelligence to support the missions of the
Department of Energy, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Department of Energy AI Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the Department has a leading role to play in making the
most of the potential of artificial intelligence to advance the
missions of the Department relating to national security,
science, and energy (including critical materials);
(2) the 17 National Laboratories employ over 40,000
scientists, engineers, and researchers with decades of
experience developing world-leading advanced computational
algorithms, computer science research, experimentation, and
applications in machine learning that underlie artificial
intelligence;
(3) the NNSA manages the Stockpile Stewardship Program
established under section 4201 of the Atomic Energy Defense Act
(50 U.S.C. 2521), which includes the Advanced Simulation and
Computing program, that provides critical classified and
unclassified computing capabilities to sustain the nuclear
stockpile of the United States;
(4) for decades, the Department has led the world in the
design, construction, and operation of the preeminent high-
performance computing systems of the United States, which
benefit the scientific and economic competitiveness of the
United States across many sectors, including energy, critical
materials, biotechnology, and national security;
(5) across the network of 34 user facilities of the
Department, scientists generate tremendous volumes of high-
quality open data across diverse research areas, while the NNSA
has always generated the foremost datasets in the world on
nuclear deterrence and strategic weapons;
(6) the unrivaled quantity and quality of open and
classified scientific datasets of the Department is a unique
asset to rapidly develop frontier AI models;
(7) the Department already develops cutting-edge AI models
to execute the broad mission of the Department, including AI
models of the Department that are used to forecast disease
transmission for COVID-19, and address critical material issues
and emerging nuclear security missions;
(8) the AI capabilities of the Department will underpin and
jumpstart a dedicated, focused, and centralized AI program; and
(9) under section 4.1(b) of Executive Order 14110 (88 Fed.
Reg. 75191 (November 1, 2023)) (relating to the safe, secure,
and trustworthy development and use of artificial
intelligence), the Secretary is tasked to lead development in
testbeds, national security protections, and assessment of
artificial intelligence applications.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) AI; artificial intelligence.--The terms ``AI'' and
``artificial intelligence'' have the meaning given the term
``artificial intelligence'' in section 5002 of the National
Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C.
9401).
(2) Alignment.--The term ``alignment'' means a field of AI
safety research that aims to make AI systems behave in line
with human intentions.
(3) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Energy, including the NNSA.
(4) Foundation model.--The term ``foundation model'' means
an AI model that--
(A) is trained on broad data;
(B) generally uses self-supervision;
(C) contains at least tens of billions of
parameters; and
(D) is applicable across a wide range of contexts;
and
(E) exhibits, or could be easily modified to
exhibit, high levels of performance at tasks that pose
a serious risk to the security, national economic
security, or national public health or safety of the
United States.
(5) Frontier ai.--
(A) In general.--The term ``frontier AI'' means the
leading edge of AI research that remains unexplored and
is considered to be the most challenging, including
models--
(i) that exceed the capabilities currently
present in the most advanced existing models;
and
(ii) many of which perform a wide variety
of tasks.
(B) Inclusion.--The term ``frontier AI'' includes
AI models with more than 1,000,000,000,000 parameters.
(6) National laboratory.--The term ``National Laboratory''
has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
(7) NNSA.--The term ``NNSA'' means the National Nuclear
Security Administration.
(8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy.
(9) Testbed.--The term ``testbed'' means any platform,
facility, or environment that enables the testing and
evaluation of scientific theories and new technologies,
including hardware, software, or field environments in which
structured frameworks can be implemented to conduct tests to
assess the performance, reliability, safety, and security of a
wide range of items, including prototypes, systems,
applications, AI models, instruments, computational tools,
devices, and other technological innovations.
SEC. 4. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESEARCH TO DEPLOYMENT.
(a) Program To Develop and Deploy Frontiers in Artificial
Intelligence for Science, Security, and Technology (FASST).--
(1) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a
centralized AI program to carry out research on the development
and deployment of advanced artificial intelligence capabilities
for the missions of the Department (referred to in this
subsection as the ``program''), consistent with the program
established under section 5501 of the William M. (Mac)
Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2021 (15 U.S.C. 9461).
(2) Program components.--
(A) In general.--The program shall advance and
support diverse activities that include the following
components:
(i) Aggregation, curation, and distribution
of AI training datasets.
(ii) Development and deployment of next-
generation computing platforms and
infrastructure.
(iii) Development and deployment of safe
and trustworthy AI models and systems.
(iv) Tuning and adaptation of AI models and
systems for pressing scientific, energy, and
national security applications.
(B) Aggregation, curation, and distribution of ai
training datasets.--In carrying out the component of
the program described in subparagraph (A)(i), the
Secretary shall develop methods, platforms, protocols,
and other tools required for efficient, safe, and
effective aggregation, generation, curation, and
distribution of AI training datasets, including--
(i) assembling, aggregating, and curating
large-scale training data for advanced AI,
including outputs from research programs of the
Department and other open science data, with
the goal of developing comprehensive scientific
AI training databases and testing and
validation data;
(ii) developing and executing appropriate
data management plan for the ethical,
responsible, and secure use of classified and
unclassified scientific data;
(iii) identifying, curating, and safely
distributing, as appropriate based on the
application--
(I) scientific and experimental
Departmental datasets; and
(II) sponsored research activities
that are needed for the training of
foundation and adapted downstream AI
models; and
(iv) partnering with stakeholders to curate
critical datasets that reside outside the
Department but are determined to be critical to
optimizing the capabilities of open-science AI
foundation models, national security AI
foundation models, and other AI technologies
developed under the program.
(C) Development and deployment of next-generation
computing platforms and infrastructure.--In carrying
out the component of the program described in
subparagraph (A)(ii), the Secretary shall--
(i) develop early-stage AI testbeds to test
and evaluate new software, hardware,
algorithms, and other AI-based technologies and
applications;
(ii) develop and deploy new energy-
efficient AI computing hardware and software
infrastructure necessary for developing and
deploying trustworthy frontier AI systems that
leverage the high-performance computing
capabilities of the Department and the National
Laboratories;
(iii) facilitate the development and
deployment of unclassified and classified high-
performance computing systems and AI platforms
through Department-owned infrastructure data
and computing facilities;
(iv) procure high-performance computing and
other resources necessary for developing,
training, evaluating, and deploying AI
foundation models and AI technologies; and
(v) use appropriate supplier screening
tools available through the Department to
ensure that procurements under clause (iv) are
from trusted suppliers.
(D) Development and deployment of safe and
trustworthy ai models and systems.--In carrying out the
component of the program described in subparagraph
(A)(iii), not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall--
(i) develop innovative concepts and applied
mathematics, computer science, engineering, and
other science disciplines needed for frontier
AI;
(ii) develop best-in-class AI foundation
models and other AI technologies for open-
science and national security applications;
(iii) research and deploy counter-
adversarial artificial intelligence solutions
to predict, prevent, mitigate, and respond to
threats to critical infrastructure, energy
security, and nuclear nonproliferation, and
biological and chemical threats;
(iv) establish crosscutting research
efforts on AI risks, reliability, safety,
trustworthiness, and alignment, including the
creation of unclassified and classified data
platforms across the Department; and
(v) develop capabilities needed to ensure
the safe and responsible implementation of AI
in the private and public sectors that--
(I) may be readily applied across
Federal agencies and private entities
to ensure that open-science models are
released responsibly, securely, and in
the national interest; and
(II) ensure that classified
national security models are secure,
responsibly managed, and safely
implemented in the national interest.
(E) Tuning and adaptation of ai models and systems
for pressing scientific and national security
applications.--In carrying out the component of the
program described in subparagraph (A)(iv), the
Secretary shall--
(i) use AI foundation models and other AI
technologies to develop a multitude of tuned
and adapted downstream models to solve pressing
scientific, energy, and national security
challenges;
(ii) carry out joint work, including
public-private partnerships, and cooperative
research projects with industry, including end
user companies, hardware systems vendors, and
AI software companies, to advance AI
technologies relevant to the missions of the
Department;
(iii) form partnerships with other Federal
agencies, institutions of higher education, and
international organizations aligned with the
interests of the United States to advance
frontier AI systems development and deployment;
and
(iv) increase research experiences and
workforce development, including training for
undergraduate and graduate students in frontier
AI for science, energy, and national security.
(3) Strategic plan.--In carrying out the program, the
Secretary shall develop a strategic plan with specific short-
term and long-term goals and resource needs to advance
applications in AI for science, energy, and national security
to support the missions of the Department, consistent with--
(A) the 2023 National Laboratory workshop report
entitled ``Advanced Research Directions on AI for
Science, Energy, and Security''; and
(B) the 2024 National Laboratory workshop report
entitled ``AI for Energy''.
(b) AI Research and Development Centers.--
(1) In general.--As part of the program established under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall select, on a competitive,
merit-reviewed basis, National Laboratories to establish and
operate not fewer than 8 multidisciplinary AI Research and
Development Centers (referred to in this subsection as
``Centers'')--
(A) to accelerate the safe and trustworthy
deployment of AI for science, energy, and national
security missions;
(B) to demonstrate the use of AI in addressing key
challenge problems of national interest in science,
energy, and national security; and
(C) to maintain the competitive advantage of the
United States in AI.
(2) Focus.--Each Center shall bring together diverse teams
from National Laboratories, academia, and industry to
collaboratively and concurrently deploy hardware, software,
numerical methods, data, algorithms, and applications for AI
and ensure that the frontier AI research of the Department is
well-suited for key Department missions, including by using
existing and emerging computing systems to the maximum extent
practicable.
(3) Administration.--
(A) National laboratory.--Each Center shall be
established as part of a National Laboratory.
(B) Application.--To be eligible for selection to
establish and operate a Center under paragraph (1), a
National Laboratory shall submit to the Secretary an
application at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Secretary may
require.
(C) Director.--Each Center shall be headed by a
Director, who shall be the Chief Executive Officer of
the Center and an employee of the National Laboratory
described in subparagraph (A), and responsible for--
(i) successful execution of the goals of
the Center; and
(ii) coordinating with other Centers.
(D) Technical roadmap.--In support of the strategic
plan developed under subsection (a)(3), each Center
shall--
(i) set a research and innovation goal
central to advancing the science, energy, and
national security mission of the Department;
and
(ii) establish a technical roadmap to meet
that goal in not more than 7 years.
(E) Coordination.--The Secretary shall coordinate,
minimize duplication, and resolve conflicts between the
Centers.
(4) Funding.--Of the amounts made available under
subsection (h), each Center shall receive not less than
$30,000,000 per year for a duration of not less than 5 years
but not more than 7 years, which yearly amount may be renewed
for an additional 5-year period.
(c) AI Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Program.--
(1) AI risk program.--As part of the program established
under subsection (a), and consistent with the missions of the
Department, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary
of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of
National Intelligence, the Director of the National Security
Agency, and the Secretary of Commerce, shall carry out a
comprehensive program to evaluate and mitigate safety and
security risks associated with artificial intelligence systems
(referred to in this subsection as the ``AI risk program'').
(2) Risk taxonomy.--
(A) In general.--Under the AI risk program, the
Secretary shall develop a taxonomy of safety and
security risks associated with artificial intelligence
systems relevant to the missions of the Department,
including, at a minimum, the risks described in
subparagraph (B).
(B) Risks described.--The risks referred to in
subparagraph (A) are the abilities of artificial
intelligence--
(i) to generate information at a given
classification level;
(ii) to assist in generation of nuclear
weapons information;
(iii) to assist in generation of chemical,
biological, radiological, nuclear,
nonproliferation, critical infrastructure, and
energy security threats or hazards;
(iv) to assist in generation of malware and
other cyber and adversarial threats that pose a
significant national security risk, such as
threatening the stability of critical national
infrastructure;
(v) to undermine public trust in the use of
artificial intelligence technologies or in
national security;
(vi) to deceive a human operator or
computer system, or otherwise act in opposition
to the goals of a human operator or automated
systems; and
(vii) to act autonomously with little or no
human intervention in ways that conflict with
human intentions.
(d) Shared Resources for AI.--
(1) In general.--As part of the program established under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall identify, support, and
sustain shared resources and enabling tools that have the
potential to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery and
technological innovation with respect to the missions of the
Department relating to science, energy, and national security.
(2) Consultation.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall consult with relevant experts in industry,
academia, and the National Laboratories.
(3) Focus.--Shared resources and enabling tools referred to
in paragraph (1) shall include the following:
(A) Scientific data and knowledge bases for
training AI systems.
(B) Benchmarks and competitions for evaluating
advances in AI systems.
(C) Platform technologies that lower the cost of
generating training data or enable the generation of
novel training data.
(D) High-performance computing, including hybrid
computing systems that integrate AI and high-
performance computing.
(E) The combination of AI and scientific
automation, such as cloud labs and self-driving labs.
(F) Tools that enable AI to solve inverse design
problems.
(G) Testbeds for accelerating progress at the
intersection of AI and cyberphysical systems.
(e) Administration.--
(1) Research security.--The activities authorized under
this section shall be applied in a manner consistent with
subtitle D of title VI of the Research and Development,
Competition, and Innovation Act (42 U.S.C. 19231 et seq.).
(2) Cybersecurity.--The Secretary shall ensure the
integration of robust cybersecurity measures into all AI
research-to-deployment efforts authorized under this section to
protect the integrity and confidentiality of collected and
analyzed data.
(3) Partnerships with private entities.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary shall seek to
establish partnerships with private companies and
nonprofit organizations in carrying out this Act,
including with respect to the research, development,
and deployment of each of the 4 program components
described in subsection (a)(2)(A).
(B) Requirement.--In carrying out subparagraph (A),
the Secretary shall protect any information submitted
to or shared by the Department consistent with
applicable laws (including regulations).
(f) STEM Education and Workforce Development.--
(1) In general.--Of the amounts made available under
subsection (h), not less than 10 percent shall be used to
foster the education and training of the next-generation AI
workforce.
(2) AI talent.--As part of the program established under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall develop the required
workforce, and hire and train not fewer than 500 new
researchers to meet the rising demand for AI talent--
(A) with a particular emphasis on expanding the
number of individuals from underrepresented groups
pursuing and attaining skills relevant to AI; and
(B) including by--
(i) providing training, grants, and
research opportunities;
(ii) carrying out public awareness
campaigns about AI career paths; and
(iii) establishing new degree and
certificate programs in AI-related disciplines
at universities and community colleges.
(g) Annual Report.--The Secretary shall submit to Congress an
annual report describing--
(1) the progress, findings, and expenditures under each
program established under this section; and
(2) any legislative recommendations for promoting and
improving each of those programs.
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $2,400,000,000 each year for the
5-year period following the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. FEDERAL PERMITTING.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a program to
improve Federal permitting processes for energy-related projects,
including critical materials projects, using artificial intelligence.
(b) Program Components.--In carrying out the program established
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall carry out activities,
including activities that--
(1) analyze data and provide tools from past environmental
and other permitting reviews, including by--
(A) extracting data from applications for
comparison with data relied on in environmental reviews
to assess the adequacy and relevance of applications;
(B) extracting information from past site-specific
analyses in the area of a current project;
(C) summarizing key mitigation actions that have
been successfully applied in past similar projects; and
(D) using AI for deeper reviews of past
determinations under the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to inform more
flexible and effective categorical exclusions; and
(2) build tools to improve future reviews, including--
(A) tools for project proponents that accelerate
preparation of environmental documentation;
(B) tools for government reviewers such as domain-
specific large language models that help convert
geographic information system or tabular data on
resources potentially impacted into rough-draft
narrative documents;
(C) tools to be applied in nongovernmental
settings, such as automatic reviews of applications to
assess the completeness of information; and
(D) a strategic plan to implement and deploy online
and digital tools to improve Federal permitting
activities, developed in consultation with--
(i) the Secretary of the Interior;
(ii) the Secretary of Agriculture, with
respect to National Forest System land;
(iii) the Executive Director of the Federal
Permitting Improvement Steering Council
established by section 41002(a) of the FAST Act
(42 U.S.C. 4370m-1(a)); and
(iv) the heads of any other relevant
Federal department or agency, as determined
appropriate by the Secretary.
SEC. 6. RULEMAKING ON AI STANDARDIZATION FOR GRID INTERCONNECTION.
Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall initiate a rulemaking to
revise the pro forma Large Generator Interconnection Procedures
promulgated pursuant to section 35.28(f) of title 18, Code of Federal
Regulations (or successor regulations), to require public utility
transmission providers to share and employ, as appropriate, queue
management best practices with respect to the use of computing
technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, or
automation, in evaluating and processing interconnection requests, in
order to expedite study results with respect to those requests.
SEC. 7. ENSURING ENERGY SECURITY FOR DATACENTERS AND COMPUTING
RESOURCES.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that--
(1) assesses--
(A) the growth of computing data centers and
advanced computing electrical power load in the United
States;
(B) potential risks of growth in computing centers
or growth in the required electrical power to United
States energy and national security; and
(C) the extent to which emerging technologies, such
as artificial intelligence and advanced computing, may
impact hardware and software systems used at data and
computing centers; and
(2) provides recommendations for--
(A) resources and capabilities that the Department
may provide to promote access to energy resources by
data centers and advanced computing;
(B) policy changes to ensure domestic deployment of
data center and advanced computing resources prevents
offshoring of United States data and resources; and
(C) improving the energy efficiency of data
centers, advanced computing, and AI.
SEC. 8. OFFICE OF CRITICAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY.
(a) In General.--Title II of the Department of Energy Organization
Act is amended by inserting after section 215 (42 U.S.C. 7144b) the
following:
``SEC. 216. OFFICE OF CRITICAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Critical and emerging technology.--The term `critical
and emerging technology' means--
``(A) advanced technology that is potentially
significant to United States competitiveness, energy
security, or national security, such as biotechnology,
advanced computing, and advanced manufacturing;
``(B) technology that may address the challenges
described in subsection (b) of section 10387 of the
Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation
Act (42 U.S.C. 19107); and
``(C) technology described in the key technology
focus areas described in subsection (c) of that section
(42 U.S.C. 19107).
``(2) Department capabilities.--The term `Department
capabilities' means--
``(A) each of the National Laboratories (as defined
in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42
U.S.C. 15801)); and
``(B) each associated user facility of the
Department.
``(3) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of
Critical and Emerging Technology described in subsection (d).
``(4) Office.--The term `Office' means the Office of
Critical and Emerging Technology established by subsection (b).
``(b) Establishment.--There shall be within the Office of the Under
Secretary for Science and Innovation an Office of Critical and Emerging
Technology.
``(c) Mission.--The mission of the Office shall be--
``(1) to work across the entire Department to assess and
analyze the status of and gaps in United States
competitiveness, energy security, and national security
relating to critical and emerging technologies, including
through the use of Department capabilities;
``(2) to leverage Department capabilities to provide for
rapid response to emerging threats and technological surprise
from new emerging technologies;
``(3) to promote greater participation of Department
capabilities within national science policy and international
forums; and
``(4) to inform the direction of research and policy
decisionmaking relating to potential risks of adoption and use
of emerging technologies, such as inadvertent or deliberate
misuses of technology.
``(d) Director of Critical and Emerging Technology.--The Office
shall be headed by a director, to be known as the `Director of Critical
and Emerging Technology', who shall--
``(1) be appointed by the Secretary; and
``(2) be an individual who, by reason of professional
background and experience, is specially qualified to advise the
Secretary on matters pertaining to critical and emerging
technology.
``(e) Collaboration.--In carrying out the mission and activities of
the Office, the Director shall closely collaborate with all relevant
Departmental entities, including the National Nuclear Security
Administration and the Office of Science, to maximize the computational
capabilities of the Department and minimize redundant capabilities.
``(f) Coordination.--In carrying out the mission and activities of
the Office, the Director--
``(1) shall coordinate with senior leadership across the
Department and other stakeholders (such as institutions of
higher education and private industry);
``(2) shall ensure the coordination of the Office of
Science with the other activities of the Department relating to
critical and emerging technology, including the transfer of
knowledge, capabilities, and relevant technologies, from basic
research programs of the Department to applied research and
development programs of the Department, for the purpose of
enabling development of mission-relevant technologies;
``(3) shall support joint activities among the programs of
the Department;
``(4) shall coordinate with the heads of other relevant
Federal agencies operating under existing authorizations with
subjects related to the mission of the Office described in
subsection (c) in support of advancements in related research
areas, as the Director determines to be appropriate; and
``(5) may form partnerships to enhance the use of, and to
ensure access to, user facilities by other Federal agencies.
``(g) Planning, Assessment, and Reporting.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of the Department of Energy AI Act, the Secretary
shall submit to Congress a critical and emerging technology
action plan and assessment, which shall include--
``(A) a review of current investments, programs,
activities, and science infrastructure of the
Department, including under National Laboratories, to
advance critical and emerging technologies;
``(B) a description of any shortcomings of the
capabilities of the Department that may adversely
impact national competitiveness relating to emerging
technologies or national security; and
``(C) a budget projection for the subsequent 5
fiscal years of planned investments of the Department
in each critical and emerging technology, including
research and development, infrastructure, pilots, test
beds, demonstration projects, and other relevant
activities.
``(2) Updates.--Every 2 years after the submission of the
plan and assessment under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall
submit to Congress--
``(A) an updated emerging technology action plan
and assessment; and
``(B) a report that describes the progress made
toward meeting the goals set forth in the emerging
technology action plan and assessment submitted
previously.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Department
of Energy Organization Act (Public Law 95-91; 91 Stat. 565; 119 Stat.
764; 133 Stat. 2199) is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 215 the following:
``Sec. 216. Office of Critical and Emerging Technology.''.
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