In order to accelerate technological upgrades and cope with global competition, the U.S. government plans to make a deep reform in the way federal research funds are allocated. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy recently released a new report, announcing that future funding will no longer overly rely on universities, but instead shift towards individual scientists and artificial intelligence applications.

This new regulation will directly affect the direction of the annual federal R&D budget allocation, which amounts to about 200 billion dollars per year. The White House hopes to directly support scholars with innovative capabilities through personal scholarships and research awards, thus reducing intermediary steps.

Breaking the traditional bureaucratic system, directly funding frontline researchers

For a long time, research funds were mainly allocated to universities first, and then redistributed internally by the schools. This traditional funding model has been criticized for serious bureaucracy, leading to a lot of time and money being wasted on complex administrative tasks.

By directly delivering funds to researchers, the White House aims to break the established approval system that has existed for decades. Although this change may impact large universities that rely on federal funding, decision-makers believe this move can significantly improve the efficiency of scientific research projects.

Putting AI at the core of research, setting multiple cutting-edge technology goals

In addition to changing the funding channels, another key aspect of the new policy is deeply integrating artificial intelligence into all aspects of scientific discovery. Authorities clearly require institutions to regard AI as a new tool that drives breakthroughs, rather than just an ordinary software for daily work.

Along with the shift in funding comes a series of ambitious national technology goals, including deploying powerful quantum computers before 2028 and accelerating the development of energy infrastructure. However, some skeptical scholars have warned that over-reliance on AI technology, which still has flaws, may bring new unknown risks to scientific research.