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AI United States Education Google

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Wants To Create a Government-Funded AI University (medium.com) 20

The U.S. government's approach of letting Silicon Valley drive the country's technological boom has left the government itself scrambling for tech talent. Now, a federal commission led by ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work wants to create a university to train new government coders. From a report: The school would be called the U.S. Digital Service Academy, and it would be an accredited, degree-awarding university that trains students in digital skills like cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Students would get a traditional school year of coursework, with internships in the public and private sector during summers. The Digital Service Academy would theoretically supply the United States with a fresh stream of young talent already ideologically invested in serving the federal government. However, it would compete with elite institutions like Stanford and MIT, where graduates often have their pick of private-sector work and can still go into the public sector if they choose.

The commission set to recommend the new institution, called the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), unanimously voted to make the recommendation in an upcoming report to Congress during a publicly broadcast meeting on July 20. NSCAI commissioner and former FCC head Mignon Clyburn raised the issue that whatever organization Congress created would have to make an effort to be inclusive in its recruitment. "Talent comes in many forms and from many places," Clyburn said. "If the recruitment only happens where the roads are paved, you've missed a lot of opportunities and a lot of talent." Congress created the NSCAI in 2018 as a response to China's drastic investment into artificial intelligence. It taps industry and government veterans to rethink how the government funds and sanctions artificial intelligence efforts.

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Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Wants To Create a Government-Funded AI University

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  • A university run by the same folks who run Washington.
    Sounds like a great idea - Washington DC is so effective and efficient at everything they do.

    And they'll base admissions mostly on your skin complexion and which genitalia you have, or wish you had, rather things like "people who get good grades".

    I can't imagine this not working out great.

    "a fresh stream of young talent already ideologically invested in serving the federal government"

    Ah, so they're actually TRYING to get uninformed people who think the p

    • by mi ( 197448 )

      A university run by the same folks who run Washington.

      A university run by the same folks, who run public schools. Fixed that for you...

      I guess, it makes sense to those, who want the same people to also run healthcare...

      • Yep.

        Of the 71 OECD countries, the US spends more than any of them except Norway. Our results - 24th out of 71 countries in science, 38th in math.

        If you want to spend a lot of money on really expensive education and get mediocre results, have the government do it.

        Maybe the US could learn something from the countries whose students score higher, such as Estonia, China, Slovenia, Belgium, Poland, and Vietnam.

        • Re: (Score:2, Offtopic)

          Yea it is really odd what we get back from the Public Unions(teachers, admins, etc) for that money. All my clients expect me to deliver.
          Our public schools controlled by the public employee unions have failed for decades in the big urban areas.

          We need all parents to get a voucher for each child that they can use at the school of their choice (each qtr/semester). The middle class and wealthy get to choose where their kids go to school. Why because they can choose to pay themselves, and for the middle class
          • by gtall ( 79522 )

            "The middle class and wealthy get to choose where their kids go to school."

            And the reason for that is because they middle class and the wealthy consistently refuse to properly fund inner city schools. School budgets are controlled by property taxes. The middle class and the wealthy built themselves special enclaves, we call them suburbs. What is needed is are unified school budgets for entire counties, and unified school boards for entire counties to remove the little fiefdoms the school board members have

    • by Rewind ( 138843 )
      Unlike large corporations which, as we all know, are nimble, on the cutting edge of change, free from bureaucratic inefficiency, and immune to corruption!
  • by Sebby ( 238625 ) on Tuesday July 21, 2020 @04:47PM (#60316459)

    Given how Google behaves these days, I'd say he was a "bad parental influence".

  • by oldgraybeard ( 2939809 ) on Tuesday July 21, 2020 @04:48PM (#60316463)
    and stay really rich by using other peoples money. To fund government flops.

    Just my 2 cents ;)
  • by fredrated ( 639554 ) on Tuesday July 21, 2020 @05:21PM (#60316593) Journal

    Don't spend mine, you have more than me.

  • 1) Get the government to foot the bill for saturating the market with AI specialists.
    2) Rub hands in glee as the compensation level for AI specialists plummets.
    3) Profit - no investment required!

    • by Cylix ( 55374 )

      Damn, I need to make an AI University.

      Send me all of your AIs and if they qualify for government scholarships we will teach them!

  • by JeffOwl ( 2858633 ) on Tuesday July 21, 2020 @05:26PM (#60316609)
    I could be with him, except where he wants to take money from me to do it. He should spend his own money on it until he can prove the concept and show value for the money spent. He can afford it.
  • Am I the only one who read the headline this way?

  • Maybe the whole AI idea might keep costs down? The godz know it must be cheaper than grant-chasing professors (even with their enslaved grad student minions).
    I wonder what they'll use for textbooks: Can an AI copyright a textbook?

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