U.S. Senators Ted Budd and Andy Kim introduced the Artificial Intelligence Ready Data Act on Mar. 17, aiming to make government data assets more accessible for training American artificial intelligence models.
The legislation is intended to help maintain U.S. leadership in AI by leveraging the vast data resources held by the federal government. Supporters say that opening these datasets will benefit a range of sectors, from manufacturing to healthcare and weather modeling.
“The success of American AI models to help grow our economy and create new jobs depends on access to high-quality data. The federal government maintains the world’s largest collection of publicly available data across every discipline, but we must do more to make government data assets more accessible and digestible. By unlocking these resources, developers of all sizes and interests can deploy smarter solutions that will benefit everything from advanced manufacturing to healthcare research to weather modeling. I am proud to work with Senator Kim to help maintain America’s competitive edge and global leadership in AI innovation,” said Senator Budd.
Senator Kim said, “Federal data has long helped power scientific discovery and innovation. As new technologies like AI become key tools for researchers in New Jersey and across our country, we need to ensure that access to this data is structured, reliable, and ready to be used safely. This legislation sets the clear standards needed so federal data can further support generations of scientific breakthroughs while maintaining transparency and public trust.”
The bill has received endorsements from Google, Siemens, Snorkel AI, and NC Chamber. Anne Wall of Google said, “We’re incredibly supportive of efforts to modernize government data infrastructure, and the Artificial Intelligence-Ready Data Act does just that. It will make federal data more accessible and empower researchers and developers to leverage high-quality, secure public data – like NOAA’s atmospheric observations. This will help Americans solve complex challenges, from preparing for natural disasters to lowering the manufacturing costs of medicine.” Olympia Brikis from Siemens added that making decades of engineering and operational federal data available is a critical step toward advancing real-world applications for industry.
Alex Ratner of Snorkel AI stated: “Artificial intelligence systems are only as reliable as the data used to develop and evaluate them. Senator Budd and Senator Kim’s Artificial Intelligence-Ready Data Act recognizes an important reality: making high-quality government data accessible, well-documented, and interoperable is foundational to advancing trustworthy AI.” Jake Cashion from NC Chamber highlighted how artificial intelligence strengthens industries vital for North Carolina’s economy.
Earlier this month, Senator Budd chaired a hearing where experts discussed whether better access to quality government datasets would aid their deployment of AI solutions in fields such as healthcare, manufacturing, and robotics.
The Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 established that federal datasets should be open by default unless restricted by law or regulation. The new bill directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to seek public input on improving open government datasets for use in AI models before developing standards for agencies under guidance from the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). It also includes provisions ensuring National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) datasets support integration with machine learning technologies.
