Washington, DC - President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order Feb. 11, titled "Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence." The order aims to promote sustained investment and innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), enhance access to resources for AI research, and train a next-generation AI research workforce. National Science Foundation (NSF) Director France Córdova, who will participate in the signing ceremony, issued the following statement:

NSF has a long and rich history of supporting transformative research in AI and machine learning, and is an essential contributor to growing the workforce needed to advance AI research and development. We look forward to supporting the AI Initiative, which will be critically important to maintaining American leadership in technology and innovation.

Advances in AI are crucial for the U.S. science and engineering enterprise, and nearly all sectors of our 21stcentury economy. Many of the transformative uses of AI that we are witnessing today are founded in federal government investments in fundamental AI research that reach back over decades. Building the foundations of tomorrow's AI innovations will require new interdisciplinary collaborations, resources, and strategic vision -- principles that NSF has championed in its support of fundamental AI research. I could not be more pleased to see them articulated as part of the American AI Initiative.

The AI innovations that NSF has funded have helped the U.S. capitalize on the full potential of this critical research area, and we are eager to join this initiative to strengthen our economy, advance job growth, and better our society.