H.R. 9506: To amend the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 to require the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish a prize competition program relating to artificial intelligence, and for other purposes.

This bill would direct the federal government to set up a prize competition program for artificial intelligence (AI). Instead of only using grants or contracts, agencies could offer prizes to individuals, companies, universities, or other eligible participants that solve specific AI problems set by the government.

What the new AI prize program would do

Within one year of enactment, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy would have to create an AI prize competition program, working through existing federal science and technology coordination bodies. The goal would be to:

• speed up development of AI systems in the United States, and
• encourage AI research, development, and commercialization that addresses clearly defined technical challenges.

The bill says the government would publish detailed competition information online, including:

• a specific problem statement,
• how submissions will be judged, including success metrics and testing methods, and
• the prize amount or other awards.

Topics the competitions could cover

The bill gives a long list of possible AI priorities for the program. These include:

• microelectronics and advanced computing, including neuromorphic and quantum-related technologies,
• better AI algorithms and more powerful computing systems,
• generative and adaptive AI for design work,
• photonic and optical communication technologies,
• new materials and biotechnology applications,
• energy efficiency in AI development and deployment,
• cryptographically secure content provenance,
• AI safety, control, explainability, interpretability, and robustness,
• AI for advanced manufacturing, robotics, and industrial inspection,
• AI for maritime uses, border security, scientific research, cybersecurity, federal software modernization, wireless communications, and laboratory automation, and
• methods to prevent misuse of AI systems.

The list of priorities would be reviewed every year and updated as needed.

Other federal agencies could create related initiatives

The bill would also allow the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Transportation, and the National Science Foundation to create their own challenge-based acquisition or research-and-development investment programs that fit the same priority list. If they do so, they would have to ensure that:

• the effort benefits U.S. economic competitiveness,
• it benefits U.S. industry,
• industry and philanthropic partners are used where practical,
• U.S. advanced manufacturing is used where applicable, and
• the research is conducted in the United States.

They would also have to publish the same kind of public information about each initiative: the problem statement, evaluation criteria, and awards.

Reporting and oversight

Whenever an agency makes an award under the program, it would have to notify Congress within 60 days and describe the winning submission and its expected benefits.

Every two years, agencies running these programs would have to submit a public report describing:

• what they did,
• the results of the program, and
• how they informed the public and encouraged participation.

Sunset and studies

The AI prize program would automatically end five years after enactment.

The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to study prize competition programs in general within one year, and then study the new AI prize program after it has been operating for a few years. Those studies would examine whether prize competitions work well, whether they save time or money, and whether they produce different results than grants or contracts.

Relevant Companies

• NVDA — Could benefit if prize competitions increase demand for advanced AI hardware, computing systems, and AI development tools.
• AMD — Could be affected by increased interest in AI compute capabilities and related high-performance hardware.
• INTC — Could be affected through federal interest in microelectronics, advanced chips, and AI-related hardware research.
• TSM — Could be indirectly affected if the bill increases U.S. demand for advanced semiconductors and manufacturing capacity.
• PLTR — Could be affected if federal agencies increase use of AI for government software modernization, data analysis, and security-related projects.
• IBM — Could be affected by federal AI research programs, especially in enterprise AI, scientific computing, and government technology work.