Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act, Title VI, Section 10731 ("Microelectronics research for energy innovation")

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: U.S. federal laws
• Most recent activity: Enacted
• Most recent activity date: 2022-08-09

Risk subdomain coverage

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the risk subdomain are described.

• AI system security vulnerabilities
• Competitive dynamics
• Environmental harm

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

This document has minimal coverage of AI risk domains. It primarily focuses on microelectronics research and development infrastructure rather than AI-specific risks. The only substantive coverage relates to competitive dynamics (6.4) through its emphasis on U.S. economic competitiveness and national security in microelectronics. There are brief mentions of cybersecurity (2.2) and AI applications (7.1, 7.2) but these are not the document's primary focus.

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• Scientific Research & Development Services
• Educational Services

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the sector are described.

• Agriculture, Mining, Construction & Manufacturing
• Trade, Transportation & Utilities
• Information
• National Security

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document primarily governs Scientific Research and Development Services through establishment of federally-funded microelectronics research centers and programs. It also has significant coverage of Educational Services through workforce development and training provisions. There is minimal coverage of Information sector through references to computing and telecommunications applications.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding federal statute enacted by the United States Congress that creates mandatory obligations for the Secretary of Energy to establish and fund specific research programs. The document uses mandatory language throughout and includes specific funding authorizations with legal force.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: This is a Congressional statute (Section 10731 of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act) enacted by the United States Congress, which is the legislative body that proposed and enacted this governance instrument.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor, AI_Developer, AI_Infrastructure_Provider
• Entities: Secretary of Energy; Director of the Office of Science; National Laboratories; institutions of higher education; nonprofit research organizations; State research agencies; private commercial entities; historically Black colleges and universities; Tribal Colleges or Universities; minority-serving institutions
• Summary: The statute targets the Secretary of Energy and Director of the Office of Science who must carry out the programs, as well as eligible entities that can receive funding including National Laboratories, universities, research organizations, and private commercial entities involved in microelectronics research and development.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of Energy; Director of the Office of Science; Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives
• Summary: The Secretary of Energy and Director of the Office of Science have authority to implement the program, select recipients, and terminate underperforming Centers. Congressional committees provide oversight through mandatory reporting requirements.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Secretary of Energy; Director of the Office of Science; Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives; Director of the Office of Technology Transitions
• Summary: The Secretary and Director monitor program implementation and Center performance. Congressional committees receive regular reports and notifications. The Director of the Office of Technology Transitions coordinates technology transfer activities.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

• Plan and Design
• Build and Use Model
• Verify and Validate
• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document addresses multiple AI lifecycle stages with primary focus on Plan and Design, Build and Use Model, and Operate and Monitor stages. It emphasizes research and development of microelectronics that enable AI applications, including AI-enhanced codesign, modeling and simulation, and computing architectures.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

• AI Models
• AI Systems

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions AI models, AI systems, and computing architectures. It references leveraging artificial intelligence for microelectronics applications including codesign, modeling, and simulation. There is no mention of frontier AI, general purpose AI, task-specific AI, foundation models, generative AI, predictive AI, open-weight models, or specific compute thresholds.