AI workers get training beyond computer science

A federal bill in Washington would push artificial intelligence training beyond computer science alone. The Workforce for AI Trust Act would amend the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 to help build multidisciplinary teams that can develop, train, evaluate and understand safe and trustworthy AI systems.

The idea is to widen the talent pool around AI. Under the bill, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and other workers from fields such as social science, the humanities, law, ethics and linguistics could all fit into the effort, alongside technical researchers.

More paths into AI work

The National Science Foundation could support interdisciplinary fellowships for graduate and postdoctoral researchers at eligible colleges and universities. For graduate students, the funding could cover tuition, education-related fees and stipends for up to three academic years. For postdoctoral researchers, it could cover salaries, benefits, relocation costs, conference travel and research expenses for up to three years.

Those fellowships could also include temporary AI-related positions at federal or state agencies, national laboratories, private companies, institutions of higher education and other AI-related organizations. The bill would make room for people to learn in more than one setting, not just in a single lab or classroom.

Training across the field

The bill would also let the National Science Foundation support workshops that bring institutions together to build multidisciplinary teams and train people to work on trustworthy AI. It could fund technical and skills-based training for undergraduate and graduate students, plus postdoctoral researchers, through existing programs and related hands-on learning.

It also calls for award supplements and professional development opportunities tied to existing research grants. That could help students and researchers who are already working on federal science projects learn how to apply AI tools to their own research.

A broader workforce picture

Beyond the National Science Foundation, the measure would give the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, a bigger role in describing the AI workforce and supporting training for jobs linked to AI risk management. That includes work on testing, evaluation, verification and validation.

NIST would also be directed to develop a common framework for describing AI jobs and the skills they require. The agency would consult with other federal offices, as well as industry, schools, national laboratories, labor organizations and nonprofit groups. In plain terms, the bill tries to give schools, employers and government agencies a clearer map of what AI work looks like and who can do it.