The National Science Foundation (NSF) today announced the appointment of Tess deBlanc-Knowles to the position of special assistant to the director for AI, effective on Dec. 12.
In this position, deBlanc-Knowles will serve as the lead in the Office of the Director for issues related to AI and NSF’s implementation of the recent Executive Order (EO) on AI, the agency said.
She will serve as a member of the NSF leadership team and work across the agency to facilitate collaboration on AI initiatives and enable the agency to productively engage with ongoing national processes around AI.
The agency said deBlanc-Knowles will also retain her position in NSF’s Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, where she serves as strategic advisor for technology policy and strategy.
“This is an exciting time for AI, and I am honored to be working with the NSF leadership team to help harness AI for good and support the Foundation’s critical role in assisting our nation to realize AI’s myriad benefits while mitigating its substantial risks,” said deBlanc-Knowles.
DeBlanc-Knowles recently concluded a more than two-year tour at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), where she served as senior policy advisor in the National AI Initiative Office. In that position, she led policy efforts to strengthen the nation’s AI innovation ecosystem, including co-chairing the National AI Research Resource Task Force, overseeing the development of the National AI Research and Development Strategic Plan: 2023 Update and leading the process to craft the nation’s first strategy to advance privacy-enhancing technologies.
“Tess deBlanc-Knowles is a recognized leader with expertise that is critical to coordinating the NSF’s efforts to continue advancing cutting-edge research that expands our understanding of AI,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. “I am thrilled that she will contribute her knowledge and experience in AI-related activities to represent the vast and comprehensive work NSF is leading to ensure safe, secure, and trustworthy AI for all.”
Panchanathan recently highlighted that NSF is taking swift action to meet the requirements set forth by the AI EO, including by establishing four additional National AI Research Institutes and launching a pilot program to implement the National AI Research Resource in January.
NSF currently has 25 National AI Research Institutes – which are located across the country – 15 of them are funded through NSF. The other 10 are funded through partnerships.
Currently, NSF has AI Research Institutes that focus on topics such as AI use in agriculture, education, and science, as well as one specific to trustworthy AI. The AI EO calls on NSF to establish four new AI Institutes, in addition to the existing 25.
Michael Littman, NSF’s division director for information and intelligent systems, said on Dec. 11 that the new institutes will include “an institute on astronomy, on material science, and also on strengthening AI more broadly.”
“We’ve had these 25 existing institutes, and we’re going to have at least four more relevant to the executive order,” Littman said. “The idea is to move AI research forward, within use-inspired contexts to really understand how this can have an impact on society more generally.”
