The US government has made a Request for Information (RFI) on the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) according to David Bruggeman’s June 28, 2016 posting on his Pasco Phronesis blog (Note: Links have been removed),

Yesterday [June 27, 2016] the Federal Register published a Request for Information (RFI) from the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).  The RFI is part of the ongoing White House Initiative on the Future of Artificial Intelligence, which includes an ongoing series of workshops (the latest was today in Pittsburgh, and another is scheduled for July 7 in New York City).  The OSTP is asking for comments between now and July 22.

This May 3, 2016 US White House blog posting by Ed Felten describes the workshops and other US AI plans for public engagement,

You can learn more about these events via the links to the event websites below, and each workshop will be livestreamed:

• May 24, 2016: Legal and Governance Implications of Artificial Intelligence in Seattle, WA
• June 7, 2016: Artificial Intelligence for Social Good in Washington, DC
• June 28, 2016: Safety and Control for Artificial Intelligence in Pittsburgh, PA
• July 7: The Social and Economic Implications of Artificial Intelligence Technologies in the Near-Term in New York City

You can watch the videos of the two workshops which have already taken place by following the links above. The June 28th 2016 workshop is taking place from 9 am to 4:30 pm EST, which means those of us in other timezones can watch it on YouTube nearly in its entirety.

Getting back to the White House blog posting, here’s what else they have planned,

The Federal Government also is working to leverage AI for public good and toward a more effective government. A new National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Subcommittee on Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence will meet for the first time next week. This group will monitor state-of-the-art advances and technology milestones in artificial intelligence and machine learning within the Federal Government, in the private sector, and internationally; and help coordinate Federal activity in this space.

Broadly, between now and the end of the Administration, the NSTC group will work to increase the use of AI and machine learning to improve the delivery of government services. Such efforts may include empowering Federal departments and agencies to run pilot projects evaluating new AI-driven approaches and government investment in research on how to use AI to make government services more effective. Applications in AI to areas of government that are not traditionally technology-focused are especially significant; there is tremendous potential in AI-driven improvements to programs and delivery of services that help make everyday life better for Americans in areas related to urban systems and smart cities, mental and physical health, social welfare, criminal justice, the environment, and much more.

We look forward to engaging with the public about how best to harness the opportunities brought by artificial intelligence. …

If you’re interested in responding to the RFI, it’s the supplementary information (scroll down about 50% of the way) on the Federal Register’s RFI on Artificial Intelligence that I found provided the most insight,

…

OSTP is particularly interested in responses related to the following topics: (1) The legal and governance implications of AI; (2) the use of AI for public good; (3) the safety and control issues for AI; (4) the social and economic implications of AI; (5) the most pressing, fundamental questions in AI research, common to most or all scientific fields; (6) the most important research gaps in AI that must be addressed to advance this field and benefit the public; (7) the scientific and technical training that will be needed to take advantage of harnessing the potential of AI technology, and the challenges faced by institutions of higher education in retaining faculty and responding to explosive growth in student enrollment in AI-related courses and courses of study; (8) the specific steps that could be taken by the federal government, research institutes, universities, and philanthropies to encourage multi-disciplinary AI research; (9) specific training data sets that can accelerate the development of AI and its application; (10) the role that “market shaping” approaches such as incentive prizes and Advanced Market Commitments can play in accelerating the development of applications of AI to address societal needs, such as accelerated training for low and moderate income workers (see https://www.usaid.gov/cii/market-shaping-primer); and (11) any additional information related to AI research or policymaking, not requested above, that you believe OSTP should consider.

For a Canadian, the seventh and eighth points provide an interesting contrast of governmental responsibilities. The Canadian federal government has little to no direct authority over education.

Again, the deadline for responses is July 22, 2016.

Good luck!