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Beginning with the FY2020 budget request, NITRD has annually reported consolidated Federal nondefense investments in AI R&D. This reporting began in response to Executive Order 13859, “Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence”, which required a standardized approach to accurately account for AI R&D investments across the Federal government. At that time, NITRD worked with Federal agencies to create a new Program Component Area  (PCA) for AI and also account for investments in AI R&D that are captured under other PCAs (refer to Table 1, footnote 4, for examples of distinctions between AI and other PCAs). This accounting aligns AI R&D investments with the key strategies in The National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan: 2019 Update and enables tracking of nondefense AI R&D investments from year to year. The National AI Initiative Act of 2020 also requires consistent reporting of AI R&D investments, to include investment in National AI Research Institutes, which were included for the first time in the FY 2022 report.

Table 1 shows two types of AI R&D investments: (1) Core AI: those with a primary emphasis on AI R&D, which are reported under the AI PCA, and (2) AI Crosscut: those with primary emphases in areas other than AI, which are reported in other PCAs. The total FY2023 requested funding level for nondefense AI R&D comes to $1,844.2 million. Which is the sum of the nondefense Federal programs directly related to AI ($1,177.2 million) and the nondefense AI-related efforts reported in the other PCAs ($667 million). This total Federal FY2023 nondefense budget request in AI is a 6.3 percent increase over the FY2022 nondefense enacted investments of $1,728.2 million. An additional, partial accounting of defense investments in AI R&D brings the FY2023 budget request for AI R&D up to $2,647.3 million (source: NITRD and NAIIO Supplement to the President’s FY2023 Budget).

For more information on Federal efforts in AI R&D, please refer to the innovation strategic pillar webpage on AI.gov.

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Chart 1: Federal Budget for AI R&D, FYs 2021-2023

The NITRD and NAIIO Supplement to the President’s FY2023 Budget includes partial accounting of defense investments in the AI R&D crosscut. Future comparisons will be inclusive of defense investments.

Chart 2: Federal Budget for Nondefense AI R&D, FYs 2018-2023

The Federal budget for nondefense AI R&D accounts for investments in both core AI and crosscutting AI that is captured under other NITRD PCAs. The first accounting of core AI R&D investments occurred in FY18. The AI crosscutting budget data was reported for the first time in FY19 in the “NITRD Supplement to the President’s FY2020 Budget”, and is not available for FY18.

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Chart 3: AI R&D FY2023 Budget Request by Agency

Budget ($ in Millions)
 

* Other: DOE/NNSA, DOD/OSD, DHS/S&T, USDA-ARS, DOI/USGS, DOE/FE, NIJ, DOT/FAA, DHS/TSA, DHS/CWMD, DOE/OE, DOT/FRA, ED-IES, NASA/AERO, NIOSH, NOAA/ORF, DOE/AITO, DOT/FHWA, DOT/FTA, DOE/NE, NTIA, DOI/BSEE, NARA, NASA/SCIENCE, NOAA/PAC
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Table 1. Agency Budgets by NITRD PCA for AI R&D FYs 2019–2023

The NITRD agencies’ requested nondefense investment in AI R&D for FY 2023 is $1.8 billion, an increase of approximately 5.9 percent compared to the $1.7 billion requested for nondefense AI R&D for FY 2022. DoD investments are now included in the AI R&D crosscut and future comparisons will be inclusive of defense investments, rather than non-defense only.

Agency Fiscal Year AI ACNS CHuman CNPS CSP EdW ENIT EHCS HCIA IRAS LSDMA SPSQ Totals

 

Fiscal Year AI ACNS CHuman CNPS CSP EdW ENIT EHCS HCIA IRAS LSDMA SPSQ TOTALS
TOTALS FY 2021 Actual 1,578.20 48.0 113.9 31.9 44.0 22.7 14.0 71.9 101.1 65.7 274.5 43.8 2,409.6
TOTALS FY 2021 Suppl. 5.7 8.1 9.4 0.3 2.7 2.3 0.1 4.7 1.0 0.0 6.7 3.3 44.3
TOTALS FY 2022 Enacted 1,733.70 31.8 116.4 28.5 50.5 24.5 4.0 75.2 103.8 50.0 286.1 45.9 2,550.30
TOTALS FY 2022 Suppl. 0.4 8.1 1.8 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 8.9 0.3 1.0 5.2 1.0 26.6
TOTALS FY 2023 Request 1,831.10 30.1 114.7 26.1 51.3 25.1 2.8 79.8 120.3 50.0 269.0 46.8 2,647.30
Fiscal Year AI ACNS CHuman CNPS CSP EdW ENIT EHCS HCIA IRAS LSDMA SPSQ TOTALS
Nondefense TOTALS FY 2021 Actual 1,061.20 41.6 102.1 31.9 28.3 15.8 11.9 68.4 101.1 53.9 193.6 43.8 1,753.70
Nondefense TOTALS FY 2021 Suppl. 5.7 0.3 7.9 0.3 0.2 2.3 0.1 2.2 1.0 0 1.8 3.3 25.2
Nondefense TOTALS FY 2022 Enacted 1,073.70 23.8 104.2 28.5 27.2 14.0 2.4 71.2 103.8 36.7 197 45.9 1,728.20
Nondefense TOTALS FY 2022 Suppl. 0.4 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.0 0.2 1.0 2.2
Nondefense TOTALS FY 2023 Request 1,177.20 22.0 102.1 26.1 25.1 15.0 2.5 74.0 120.3 40.2 193.0 46.8 1,844.20

Notes for Table 1:

  • The ACNS PCA is formerly the LSN PCA.
  • Amounts are in U.S. dollars in millions.
  • Budget supplemental figures for FY 2021 and FY 2022 have not been used to calculate changes between the FY 2021 and FY 2022 budget numbers.
  • For full names of agency subcomponents (departments and offices), please see Appendix A. https://www.nitrd.gov/pubs/FY2023-NITRD-NAIIO-Supplement.pdf#page=NN
  • Totals might not sum exactly as a result of rounding.
  • (1) Examples of AI R&D investments reported under the AI PCA are R&D on general methods for machine vision; (primarily) machine learning; cybersecurity challenges unique to AI (e.g., ability to exploit flaws in an AI system’s goals); algorithms for computational linguistics; and neuromorphic computing architectures or chips optimized for neural nets. (2) Examples of AI investments reported in other PCAs are R&D on robots (reported in IRAS); the data analysis and management ecosystem (reported in LSDMA); broad issues of human-machine interaction (reported in CHuman) and cybersecurity research (reported in CSP); and general neuromorphic computing (reported in EHCS).
  • DOE/NNSA Defense Programs reported AI R&D investments in the EHCS PCA.

 

Table 2. Agency Budgets for NSF-Led National AI Research Institutes, FYs 2021–2023

NSF-led National AI Research Institutes are requesting a total of $98.4 million for FY 2023, including NSF, DHS, DoD, Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences (ED-IES), NIST, and Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) investments.

FY AGENCIES TOTALS
NSF DHS DOD ED-IES NIST USDA-NIFA
FY 2021 Actual 62.8 3.4 10.0 4.0 16.0 96.2
FY 2022 Enacted 49.3 2.0 2.0 20.0 73.3
FY 2023 Request 70.4 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 20.0 98.4
Notes for Table 2:
  • Amounts are in U.S. dollars in millions.
  • Totals might not sum exactly as a result of rounding.
  • Industry and other private partners will contribute to some National AI Research Institutes (see Section 5.0).