In response to the Biden administration’s recent AI executive order, the Department of Energy (DoE) unveiled its new Office of Critical and Emerging Technology Tuesday, aiming to ensure U.S. investments and progress in areas such as AI, biotechnology, quantum computing, and semiconductors.
The department named Helena Fu the director of the new office. She will also serve as DoE’s Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO), DoE said.
“U.S. leadership in critical and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, quantum, and microelectronics are key to enabling economic prosperity and our national security,” the office’s new website states. “These technologies will be a major source of new discoveries and breakthroughs, strengthen our ability to counter national security threats, and increase access to clean, reliable, and affordable energy.”
President Biden’s executive order tasked DoE with establishing the Office of Critical and Emerging Technology as one of several ways the department will “support the goal of strengthening our Nation’s resilience against climate change impacts and building an equitable clean energy economy for the future.”
The office will report to the under secretary for science and innovation and will focus collective efforts across the department, including its 17 National Laboratories and numerous university research and development programs.
It will serve as a single point of contact on critical and emerging technologies at the department to “help ensure that the Federal Government, in partnership with the private sector and academia, continues to be at the forefront of research, development, and deployment of key innovations impacting U.S. competitiveness and security,” DoE said.
“Since their inception, DOE’s National Laboratories have been central to the nation’s scientific and technological advancement, and we are preparing to ensure that, as new technologies emerge, the United States leads the way in exploring those frontiers,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. “Our new Office of Critical and Emerging Technology will leverage DOE’s world-class scientists and technical capabilities in the interest of American security and competitiveness.”
Specifically, the mission of the Office of Critical and Emerging Technology focuses on three collective efforts across the DoE to:
- Amplify DoE expertise in critical and emerging technology and leverage these capabilities to solve critical science, energy, and security challenges facing the nation;
- Coordinate DoE equities in critical and emerging technologies across diverse program portfolios, including the DoE National Labs, to support and inform policymaking; and
- Develop partnerships with industry and academia to advance breakthroughs and accelerate integration of technologies into the U.S. commercial sector.
Fu, who was senior advisor to the under secretary for science and innovation after serving as director for technology and national security at the National Security Council, will serve as the director of the new office.
Fu will also serve as DoE’s CAIO, whose responsibility – laid out in the AI executive order – will coordinate the department’s use of AI, manage risks from its use, and promote innovation.
The DoE’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) Ann Dunkin said today during ATARC’s 2023 CIO Summit in Washington, D.C., that her Office of the CIO will soon announce a responsible AI officer that will focus on the IT aspect of AI within the department.
