ICE rescinds foreign student rule, House appropriations bills include AI provisions and algorithm assigns exam scores

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Worth Knowing

ICE Rescinds Foreign Student Rule After Lawsuits: Facing broad opposition and legal action, the Department of Homeland Security dropped a policy banning online-only foreign students from staying in the country. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sued DHS; 200 colleges and universities signed a brief supporting the challenge. Google, Facebook and Microsoft also joined the lawsuit, arguing the directive would disrupt their recruitment efforts. Additionally, 17 states and the District of Columbia sued to overturn the ban. The Trump administration rescinded the rule and returned to earlier guidance, which lifted restrictions concerning online education during the pandemic.
Machine Learning Spotlight — Algorithm Assigns IB Exam Scores: The International Baccalaureate Organization is being criticized for determining student test scores using a predictive model after cancelling its spring exams. IB, a high school diploma-awarding program with 170,000 graduates this year, used a model to assign final scores based on a student’s prior coursework, teacher predictions and scores from previous students at the same school. Students and parents objected to the system and the erratic scores they say resulted from it. More than 23,000 people have signed a petition calling for greater transparency about the algorithm and alternate testing options.
Record Number of NeurIPS Papers Submitted: 9,467 papers were submitted to the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems this year — up 38 percent from 2019, which in turn had topped the previous year’s growth by 39 percent. From 2018 to this year, the number of submitted papers has almost doubled. A record-breaking 7,800 reviewers will peer-review the submissions. As the largest annual AI conference, NeurIPS metrics are often used as indicators of growth and enthusiasm in the field of machine learning.
Government Updates

House Appropriations Bills Include Funding for AI: The House Appropriations Committee approved all FY2021 appropriations bills, with several AI provisions. The Defense bill provides an additional $20 million for the Army AI Innovation Institute, $15 million for the Trusted and Assured Microelectronics program and $10 million for machine learning electronic warfare research above the budget request; however, $45 million was cut from the Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team. Reps. Rush and Tlaib wrote to Speaker Pelosi and Leader McCarthy requesting that appropriations bills prohibit spending federal funds on facial recognition software; the letter has 28 signatories. The House begins considering the bills this week. The Senate has not yet considered any FY2021 appropriations bills.

JAIC Prioritizing Warfighting Mission, Testing First Lethal Project: The DOD’s Joint AI Center is spending more on its Joint Warfighting Mission than all other missions combined, Acting Director of the JAIC Nand Mulchandani said in his first press conference since assuming leadership in June. This focus marks a shift away from the JAIC’s five other priorities, including humanitarian efforts and warfighter health. Mulchandani outlined two warfighting projects: one provides “cognitive assistance” by using natural language processing, the other links data across land, sea, air and cyber domains. The JAIC is also testing its first lethal AI project, described as the warfighting mission’s “flagship product,” although Mulchandani clarified the lethal product is not fully autonomous.

PCAST Recommends Increasing AI Funding to $10B: The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology published their recommendations for strengthening U.S. leadership in Industries of the Future, including quantum, biotechnology and AI. The council suggested increasing non-defense AI funding ten-fold to $10 billion by 2030, leveraging partnerships with academia and industry and developing institutes to support collaboration between cutting-edge industries. PCAST also advocated for bolstering the workforce through attracting and retaining foreign and domestic STEM talent, creating new certifications and launching retraining initiatives for non-STEM workers.

Bill to Establish Presidential Advisory Committee on AI Introduced: Congressional AI Caucus co-chairs Reps. Olson and McNerney introduced legislation on July 9 establishing a presidential advisory committee on AI. The bipartisan FUTURE of AI Act requires the U.S. Chief Technology Officer to create a group to study questions and advise the CTO on a range of matters relating to AI. The committee would consist of 19 voting members from academia, industry, civil society and labor organizations, as well as non-voting members from the government.

In Translation
CSET’s translations of significant foreign language documents on AI

Thousand Talents Program High-Level Foreign Expert Project: Detailed Rules for the “Thousand Talents Program” High-Level Foreign Expert Project. This 2011 notice provides details on China’s “Thousand Talents Program,” specifically the program’s procedures for recruiting and retaining non-Chinese foreign experts who can contribute to China’s S&T base.

State Scholarship for Self-Financed Study Abroad: Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the 2016 “State Scholarship for Outstanding Self-Financed Study Abroad Students.”  This 2016 document outlines a Chinese scholarship program for “self-financed” students studying abroad. The scholarship provides up to $16,000 for a year of overseas study for PhD candidates under the age of 40. For more on Chinese government scholarships, see The China Scholarship Council: An Overview.

What We’re Reading

Report: Reports of a Silicon Valley / Military Divide Have Been Greatly Exaggerated, Jack Poulson (July 2020)

Report: Sharpening the U.S. Military’s Edge: Critical Steps for the Next Administration, Michèle Flournoy and Gabrielle Chefitz, CNAS (July 2020)

Working Paper: Tech Clusters, The National Bureau of Economic Research (June 2020)

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