The Wrap: Sharing AI Infrastructure; Pentagon Funds Replicator; CHIPS Digital Twins

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Welcome to The Wrap for Monday, May 6!

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From the newsroom at MeriTalk, it’s the quickest read in Federal tech news. Here’s what you need to know today:

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Sharing AI Infrastructure

That aim is at the heart of the Federal government’s National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot which announced today it awarded 35 projects first-round access in the pilot which will let the research community have access to a set of advanced computing resources for projects focused on advancing safe, secure, and trustworthy AI. The awards were announced by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DoE), which explained that 27 of the projects will be supported through resources on NSF-funded advanced computing systems, and the other eight will have access to DoE-supported systems. “Today marks a pivotal moment in the advancement of AI research,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. “The NAIRR pilot, fueled by the need to advance responsible AI research and broaden access to cutting-edge resources needed for AI research, symbolizes a firm stride towards democratizing access to vital AI tools across the talented communities in all corners of our country,” he said.

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Pentagon Funds Replicator

The Department of Defense (DoD)?announced?today the initial $500 million of funding for its Replicator initiative announced last year that aims to field thousands of “spendable” autonomous systems with the stated aim of helping to counter China’s rapid armed forces buildup. What’s on the buying list for that first batch of funding? Get ready for capabilities including uncrewed surface vehicles, uncrewed aerial systems, and counter-uncrewed aerial systems of various sizes and payloads from several traditional and non-traditional vendors. The Pentagon shed a little new light today on exactly what kinds of systems it is aiming to buy, one being the Switchblade-600 loitering munition. In the maritime domain, DoD said it is diversifying the vendor base for uncrewed surface vehicles through a new acquisition program – the Production-Ready, Inexpensive, Maritime Expeditionary (PRIME) Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) – which allows U.S. and international companies to pitch technologies to the department in a fast-tracked process for a prototype contract. In its?FY25 budget request, DoD is looking to spend another $500 million on Replicator.

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CHIPS Digital Twins

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is looking to spend $285 million to set up a new CHIPS Manufacturing USA institute that will use digital twins approaches to greatly speed up the development and validation of next-generation semiconductor manufacturing, advanced packaging, assembly, and test processes. That was the news today from NIST and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), which talked about a notice of funding opportunity and an invite to industry via a May 8 briefing and a May 16 meeting for potential applicants to learn more. Why is the digital twins process key? “Unlike traditional, physical research models, digital twins can exist in the cloud, which enables collaborative design and process development by engineers and researchers across the country, creating new opportunities for participation, speeding innovation, and reducing costs of research and development,” NIST said. OSTP Director Arati Prabhakar said that use of digital twins approaches “can shrink from months to days” some aspects of chip design processes, and hasten the ability of U.S. firms to make next-generation chips. “CHIPS R&D is how we win the future,” she said.

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Cyber Command Executive Director

Congrats to Morgan Adamski, who will start work in early June as the new executive director of U.S. Cyber Command. The executive director position at Cyber Command is the highest civilian position in the organization’s command structure, and the third highest position overall. Cyber Command said she will lead “strategic initiatives to advance?CYBERCOM’s?capabilities, talent management and partnerships.” Adamski’s resume fits the bill: she has more than 15 years of experience working in Federal cybersecurity, including at the National Security Agency (NSA) as the Director of the Cybersecurity Collaboration Center (CCC) and deputy for Strategic Mission Management in NSA’s?Cybersecurity Directorate.

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Once again, let’s “call IT a day,” but we'll bring you more on tomorrow. Until then please check the MeriTalk breaking news website throughout the day for the latest on government IT people, process, and policy. And finally, please hit the news tip jar [with leads, breaking news, or simply your two cents] at [email protected].