Artificial Intelligence Literacy and Inclusion Act
Officially: “Artificial Intelligence Literacy and Inclusion Act” Read the full text
What it does
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1Short title
This section would let the Act be called the Artificial Intelligence Literacy and Inclusion Act.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Artificial Intelligence Literacy and Inclusion Act .
2Awards for artificial intelligence literacy programs
This section would let the Director of the National Science Foundation make awards to eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, or consortiums of such entities, to develop, run, and evaluate programs that teach AI literacy at the local level using local, trusted sources. Award money could pay for developing curricula, educational materials, and resources on AI literacy, including AI basics, its applications, ethical considerations, and AI's effects on society; for providing AI literacy education and training to marginalized communities, with priority to communities of color, low-income populations, rural areas, senior citizens, people with disabilities, and other underserved groups; for outreach and engagement activities to raise awareness of AI literacy and encourage participation; and for evaluating how effective AI literacy programs are and sharing best practices and lessons learned with other organizations and institutions. In deciding which applications to fund, the Director may encourage applications that show a strong commitment to serving marginalized communities, including senior citizens, that have experience running local technology education programs working with target populations, and that propose innovative and scalable approaches to AI literacy education. Each organization that receives an award would have to submit an annual report to the Director that may include a description of the AI literacy programs the award funded, information on the number and demographics of people served, and an assessment of the award's impact on participants' understanding of AI and its implications.
Not later than one year after this Act becomes law, the heads of four federal agencies would each have to submit a report to Congress detailing how their agency can more effectively advance AI literacy, and each of these reports would also have to identify existing awards under that agency that could be modified to make AI literacy an eligible use of funds, recommend how such awards could be adapted to support AI literacy initiatives in the context of workforce development, business competitiveness, education, and national security, and give specific examples of award programs that could be modified along with their potential impact. The Secretary of Labor would assess how AI literacy can be built into workforce development programs, focusing on preparing workers for future jobs and maintaining the United States' competitive advantage and national security through AI. The Secretary of Commerce would evaluate how AI literacy can make United States businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, more competitive in the global AI economy, and contribute to the United States' competitive advantage and national security through AI. The Administrator of the Small Business Administration would evaluate opportunities to support AI literacy among small business owners and entrepreneurs, with emphasis on underserved communities, to maintain the United States' competitive advantage and national security through AI. The Secretary of Education would identify strategies for incorporating AI literacy into K-12 and higher education curricula, ensuring all students have access to quality AI education, and connecting AI literacy to the United States' competitive advantage and national security through AI. While preparing these reports and recommendations, each agency head would have to consult relevant stakeholders, including educators, industry representatives, community organizations, and AI experts, and each agency would have to make its report publicly available on its website.
This section also defines key terms used for these programs. AI means artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence means an engineered system that can generate output, such as content, predictions, recommendations, or decisions that influence people or environments, for a given set of human-defined objectives. Artificial intelligence literacy, or AI literacy, means the ability for humans to understand, evaluate, and effectively use artificial intelligence technologies, including understanding AI basics, knowing what AI can do, how AI works, and being aware of AI's effects on society. Ethical artificial intelligence means the practice of designing, developing, deploying, and using AI systems to align with ethical principles and human values, taking into account the potential impact of such systems on society.
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2. Awards for artificial intelligence literacy programs (a) Awards (1) In general The Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) may make awards to eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, or consortiums of such entities, to develop, implement, and evaluate programs that promote AI literacy at the local level allowing communities to learn about AI from local, trusted sources. (2) Use of funds Awards made under this subsection may be used for the following: (A) To develop curricula, educational materials, and resources focused on AI literacy, including relating to understanding the basics of AI, its applications, ethical considerations, and the societal impacts of AI. (B) To provide AI literacy education and training to marginalized communities, with priority given to communities of color, low-income populations, rural areas, senior citizens, people with disabilities, and other underserved groups. (C) To conduct outreach and engagement activities to raise awareness of AI literacy and encourage participation in AI literacy programs. (D) To evaluate the effectiveness of AI literacy programs and share best practices and lessons learned with other organizations and institutions. (3) Prioritization In making awards under this subsection, the Director of the NSF may encourage applications that— (A) demonstrate a strong commitment to serving marginalized communities, including senior citizens; (B) have experience launching technology education local programs working with target populations; and (C) propose innovative and scalable approaches to AI literacy education. (4) Reporting Each recipient of an award made under this subsection shall submit to the Director of the NSF an annual report that may include the following: (A) A description of the AI literacy programs funded by the award. (B) Information relating to the number and demographics of individuals served by the award. (C) An assessment of the impact of the award on participants’ understanding of AI and its implications. (b) Interagency coordination, reporting, and award identification (1) Reports to Congress Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the heads of the following Federal agencies shall each submit to Congress a report detailing how the respective agency can more effectively advance AI literacy: (A) The Secretary of Labor shall assess how AI literacy can be integrated into workforce development programs, with a focus on preparing workers for the jobs of the future and maintaining the United States competitive advantage and national security through artificial intelligence. (B) The Secretary of Commerce shall evaluate how AI literacy can enhance the competitiveness of United States businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, in the global AI economy, and contribute to maintaining the United States competitive advantage and national security through artificial intelligence. (C) The Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall evaluate opportunities to support AI literacy among small business owners and entrepreneurs, with an emphasis on underserved communities, to maintain the United States competitive advantage and national security through artificial intelligence. (D) The Secretary of Education shall identify strategies for incorporating AI literacy into K–12 and higher education curricula, ensuring that all students have access to quality AI education, and that AI literacy contributes to maintaining the United States competitive advantage and national security through artificial intelligence. (2) Award identification and modification The head of each agency specified in paragraph (1) shall also include in the respective reports required under such paragraph the following: (A) An identification of existing awards under the jurisdiction of the respective agency that can be modified to include AI literacy as an eligible use of funds. (B) Recommendations on how such awards can be adapted to support AI literacy initiatives, particularly in the context of workforce development, business competitiveness, education, and national security. (C) Specific examples of award programs that could be modified and the potential impact of such modifications. (3) Consultation In preparing the reports and recommendations required under this subsection, the head of each agency shall consult with relevant stakeholders, including educators, industry representatives, community organizations, and AI experts. (4) Public availability The reports required under this subsection shall be made publicly available on the websites of the respective agencies. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) AI The term AI means artificial intelligence. (2) Artificial intelligence The term artificial intelligence means an engineered system that can generate output for a given set of human-defined objectives, such as content, predictions, recommendations, or decisions that influence people or environments. (3) Artificial intelligence literacy; AI literacy The terms artificial intelligence literacy and AI literacy mean the ability for humans to understand, evaluate, and effectively use artificial intelligence technologies, including understanding artificial intelligence basics and knowing what artificial intelligence can do, how artificial intelligence works, and being aware of the effects on society of artificial intelligence. (4) Ethical artificial intelligence The term ethical artificial intelligence means the practice of designing, developing, deploying, and using artificial intelligence systems to align with ethical principles and human values, considering the potential impact on society of such systems.
Where it is
In the House.