AI Executive Order, Energy Research, DC Rotations
BU IN DC
Vice President and Associate Provost for BU Virtual Wendy Colby spoke at the Online and Professional Education Association’s Convergence conference on November 2nd.
School of Public Health Dean Sandro Galea met with staff in the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention on November 1st.
Nahid Bhadelia of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Policy & Research met with Biden Administration officials and Capitol Hill offices to discuss pandemic preparedness policy on November 1st and 2nd.
Senior Vice President and General Counsel Erika Geetter attended the Association of American Universities General Counsels meeting on October 30th and 31st.
Eleanor Murray of the School of Public Health addressed a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine webinar on the correlation and causation of life sciences systems on October 30th.
Kate Mellouk of Research Compliance and Gretchen Hartigan and Ryan Russell of Sponsored Programs attended a Council on Government Relations meeting on October 26th and 27th.
WHITE HOUSE, SENATE ADDRESS AI
On Monday, the White House issued an executive order outlining actions the Biden Administration will take to support the safe, ethical development of artificial intelligence (AI). The order directs research agencies to bolster investments in AI, streamlines visa processing for certain classes of international students and scholars trained in AI and related technologies, and encourages international collaboration on the technology’s development and deployment. Following the White House announcement, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) hosted the third and fourth forums in a bipartisan series leading to the development of comprehensive AI legislation next year. The first forum focused on AI’s impacts on the workforce, with participants from technology companies and civil society raising concerns about AI’s potential to replace large swaths of the workforce. The second looked at how to protect civil liberties when AI is used in sectors such as health care, financial services, and the justice system.
HOUSE TAKES UP ENERGY, ARTS & HUMANITIES SPENDING BILLS
The U.S. House of Representatives is poised to pass a spending bill today that would cut the budgets of the National Endowments for the Arts (NEA) and the Humanities (NEH) by $20.7 million each. Yesterday, the chamber rejected amendments to eliminate funding for both agencies. Today’s action comes after the House restarted its stalled appropriations process last week by passing a bill that would fund the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science at its current fiscal year 2023 level. While the Senate Appropriations Committee has proposed an increase to the Office of Science budget and flat funding for the NEH and NEA, the full U.S. Senate has not yet voted on either measure. Lawmakers are rushing to pass more spending bills before government funding is set to expire on November 17th.
EVENTS NEWS YOU CAN USE
Would you like to share your expertise at the highest levels of government? Has a program officer urged you to consider a rotation in a federal agency? Join BU Federal Relations on November 15th at 2:00 p.m. for a virtual discussion with BU professors who have taken on temporary positions in federal agencies, ranging from the White House to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Learn about their motivations and experiences, what they learned about BU’s approval process for faculty considering this type of position, how their rotations influenced their research agendas, and more.
A Note To Our Readers: Due to the University observance of Veterans Day, Beltway BUzz will not publish next week.