NIH Director, Regulating AI, Empathic Communication
BU IN DC
Provost ad interim Kenneth Lutchen attended the Association of American Universities Chief Academic Officers meeting from September 10th through 12th.
Dean David Chard and Leslie Dietiker of the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development attended the LEARN Coalition’s fall meeting on September 12th. Dietiker discussed education research with Congressional offices on September 13th.
Woodrow Hartzog of the School of Law testified at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on regulating artificial intelligence on September 12th.
Maya Steinitz of the School of Law testified before a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on third-party litigation funding on September 13th.
Carl Streed of the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine presented at a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine meeting on sexual orientation and gender identity data collection in electronic medical records on September 14th.
BUZZ BITS…
- Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on Dr. Monica Bertagnolli’s nomination to be director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) next month. Sanders had previously delayed her confirmation hearing due to concerns regarding the Biden Administration’s approach to addressing drug costs. Dr. Bertagnolli, currently the director of the National Cancer Institute, was nominated in May. The NIH has been without a permanent director since Dr. Francis Collins stepped down at the end of 2021.
- The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee held a hearing on Thursday on the current science priorities of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm fielded questions from lawmakers regarding the agency’s balance between energy research and applied energy in the midst of a constrained budget environment, protecting DOE research from malign foreign influence, and DOE’s investments in technologies like quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
- Dr. Ceren Susut is the new head of the Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) office at the U.S. Department of Energy. Dr. Susut has worked in ASCR for over 12 years and was serving as its acting director.
CONGRESS EXPLORES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
As artificial intelligence (AI) evolves, Congress is ramping up its efforts to better understand the technology and how it should be regulated.
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) hosted a bipartisan Senate meeting on AI with the executives of major technology companies, labor unions, and civic groups on Wednesday. Schumer plans to host additional AI forums, with the goal of crafting bipartisan legislation to both bolster the technology’s development and provide guardrails against misuse.
- On Tuesday, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee examined the need for AI transparency and the Senate Judiciary Committee discussed government oversight of AI.
- Last week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on the role of the U.S. Department of Energy in accelerating U.S. leadership in AI. The hearing focused on a proposal from the agency to harness the computing power of the national energy laboratories to advance AI research.
- The House Oversight and Accountability Committee examined how federal agencies are utilizing AI at a hearing on Thursday. Lawmakers heard from the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, as well as the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
EVENTS NEWS YOU CAN USE
The Office of Research and BU Public Relations | Social Media are hosting the first strategic communications workshop of the academic year on September 21st at 2 p.m. Communication specialists from the Alan Alda Center will lead an immersive, virtual workshop designed to empower faculty members and researchers with the art of responsive listening and empathic communication. In this interactive session, participants will delve into the transformative world of communication techniques that foster trust and ignite meaningful engagement within the realm of science.