SCHUMER BRINGS NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION DIRECTOR TO THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO TO SHOW HOW UPSTATE NY IS PRIMED TO LEAD IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INNOVATION AND TO PUSH FEDS TO INVEST MORE IN BUFFALO TECH ECONOMY; SENATOR & NSF DIRECTOR CUT RIBBON ON NEW $20 MILLION FED-FUNDED NATIONAL AI INSTITUTE FOR EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION AT UB, AS SCHUMER PUSHES CONGRESS TO START INVESTING IN AI INNOVATION, SAFETY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Following His Invitation, Senator Brings NSF Top Brass To UB; With Feds Investing Big In AI Development, Including First Of Its Kind National AI Research Resource Pilot, Schumer Doubles Down On Buffalo And Broader Upstate Region As Hub For Innovation
From New Fed-Funded UB AI Research Institute To NYS’s UB-Based Empire AI Consortium & Fed Tech Hub Designation For Chips –The Foundation Of AI Tech –Schumer Says Now Is Time For Feds To Invest More In Western NY As He Pushes Congress To Address AI Risks and Opportunities
Schumer To NSF Director: Buffalo & Upstate NY Are Ready To Power America’s AI Future
Following his personal invitation earlier this year, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today brought Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), to cut the ribbon for the newly established, fed funded National AI Research Institute at the University at Buffalo (UB) and to show the NSF top brass how the region is primed to lead on AI and spur growth of this cutting-edge industry.
At the ceremony, Schumer explained his Chips & Science Act has made significant investments in Upstate NY’s AI ecosystem – including securing Buffalo the prestigious federal Tech Hub designation to build a semiconductor manufacturing hub in Upstate NY, which are the building blocks for AI technology. Now, as the feds invest in AI development and Schumer pushes Congress to begin taking the lead on AI investment and regulation, he says now is the time to be investing more in places like Buffalo and Upstate NY.
“The data is clear: the University of Buffalo and Western NY are at the top when it comes to powering technological advancement and AI innovation. With the opening of the new $20 million federally-funded National AI Institute for Exceptional Education –which helps children with disabilities learn to speak – UB is solidifying its position as the place that will take our nation to the next frontier in AI as a force for good,” said Senator Schumer. “We have a golden opportunity for the United States to be even more of a trailblazer in AI, with Buffalo leading the way. I am proud to personally bring NSF Director, Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, to see firsthand the unmatched AI capabilities of Western NY and the broader Upstate region.”
At the ribbon cutting, Schumer explained the U.S. has always been a leader in innovating on the greatest technologies that shape the modern world, and AI is no different, which is why it’s vital the feds invest in research, manufacturing, national security, and workforce development to dominate in AI. Schumer said with China already planning their own approach to regulating AI, significant investment in AI is needed so the U.S. can stay ahead of China to safely shape and leverage this powerful technology. The senator said Buffalo is already leading the way for the nation on AI, and with further federal investment and appropriate guideposts, Buffalo and Western NY will be the nation’s center for AI innovation, spurring major advancements in the field, creating new good-paying jobs, and boosting the country’s innovation economy.
Schumer continued, “The stakes here are high. We need AI’s future built here in places like Buffalo, not Beijing. The U.S. must invest in responsible AI research and semiconductor manufacturing to ensure we stay at the top of this cutting-edge field.”
“I’m excited to come to the University at Buffalo with Leader Schumer to announce the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education, and appreciate his leadership in this critical area,” said Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the U.S. National Science Foundation. “By advancing AI techniques, human-AI interactions, and learning science, this Institute will develop entirely new ways to identify and assist millions of children—and their teachers—across the United States in need of speech and language services. This effort will empower generations of young people with a high-quality education, opening a lifetime of bigger and better opportunities than ever available to them before. Through this new AI Institute, NSF is reinforcing its commitment to our nation’s global leadership in AI and in R&D, here in Buffalo, and across the country. Together, the NSF-led AI Institutes are harnessing the power of AI to strengthen our nation’s education system, grow a skilled and diverse workforce, boost the economy, and bolster national security.”
UB President Satish K. Tripathi said, “Today’s visit to UB by Senate Majority Leader Schumer and Dr. Panchanathan is a testament to UB’s longstanding leadership in responsible AI research and innovation. We applaud Leader Schumer’s vision to ensure AI is harnessed to solve society’s most challenging problems and his long-standing support for federally funded academic research. Today, Leader Schumer and Dr. Panchanathan had the opportunity to see firsthand why UB is a national and international powerhouse in this cutting-edge field known as Artificial Intelligence. With their collective support, UB will be known for many, many decades to come as the center of AI for the public good.”
With the launch of the National Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, UB will spur critical innovation for transforming education for children with speech and language processing challenges. Through this new Institute, UB is using AI to enhance our understanding of children’s speech and language development in order to provide early screening for all children and individualized assistance to children facing speech and language challenges, while helping to address educational and workforce development needs.
The senator said the Institute will advance the next frontier of AI with conduct cutting-edge AI research, securing themselves a leading role in developing the technologies of the future, growing the AI innovation economy in Western New York, supporting good-paying research jobs, and attracting further investments with a bolstered workforce to support new companies. Thanks to Schumer relentlessly advocacy and CHIPS and Science Act, he secured the largest dollar increase in history for the NSF and helped deliver $20 million to establish the National Artificial Intelligence Research Institute at UB, that they cut the ribbon on today. In addition, UB was also just announced as the future home for NYS’s Empire AI initiative, a proposed $400 million consortium that will build a new AI computing center at UB to facilitate innovation, responsible research, and economic development.
Schumer said the region’s unmatched capabilities on AI research and chips manufacturing are why it was so important the NSF Director see the work being done in Buffalo firsthand, especially as the NSF and other federal agencies begin ramping up investments on AI. The NSF is currently helping stand up a first-of-its-kind new National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot program along with dozens of other critical investments and policies for AI innovation and safety. Schumer said Upstate New York would be the perfect partner for the Biden administration’s AI initiatives and made the case firsthand how the region’s facilities, entrepreneurs, and researchers are ready to lead the way on AI.
Schumer said, “When I wrote my CHIPS & Science Act, I did so with Buffalo as a guiding light, knowing it has the research capabilities, top-notch scientific minds, powerhouse workforce and entrepreneurial spirit to spur innovation in this field. As majority leader, I personally secured Buffalo and Upstate New York the federal “tech hubs” designation so it could not only lead in the technology of tomorrow, but manufacture the chips that run it today and that are so integral to AI. This is the time to bolster the region’s AI capabilities to catapult our state and country to the next frontier of AI, and now, the feds will see firsthand what I have long said – Buffalo and Western NY are going to lead the next generation of innovation for America.”
Over the last few months, Schumer has convened a series of bipartisan AI Insight Forums to bring together leaders from across sectors—industry, academia, labor, civil society—to assess the opportunities and risks that AI poses. Schumer is actively working with bipartisan partners to now develop and advance legislation to act on the findings from those Forums, including investing in innovation and a permanent NAIRR, which will help ensure the U.S. and New York stay at the forefront of this key technology.
In addition, the senator said Upstate New York is not only advancing AI research and development, but manufacturing the chips that run AI, bringing jobs back from overseas, creating good-paying jobs for New Yorkers, and boosting the state’s economy. As part of the prestigious Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region Federal Tech Hub – which Schumer secured after years of relentless advocacy and creating this opportunity in his CHIPS & Science Act – the three-region consortium’s “NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub” is bringing together the combined assets of Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse to build on the historic investments Schumer delivered to spur semiconductor manufacturing and innovation. Notably, the memory chips which Micron will be making in Syracuse are especially critical to AI development, along with the mature node chips GlobalFoundries makes in Malta and will be expanding production of to meet increased demand from industries like AI.
A copy of Schumer’s letter inviting Biden administration officials can be found here:
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