President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday afternoon to boost artificial intelligence (AI)-powered research and development by turning government data into scientific discoveries.
The “Genesis Mission” directs the secretary of energy to create a “cooperative system for research” by partnering with industry, academia, and other scientific institutions on a digital platform powered by AI.
The Department of Energy (DOE) and its 17 national laboratories will oversee development of the platform, centralizing scientific data from across the nation, while integrating supercomputers and next-generation quantum systems.
“The Genesis Mission will dramatically accelerate scientific discovery, strengthen national security, secure energy dominance, enhance workforce productivity, and multiply the return on taxpayer investment into research and development, thereby furthering America’s technological dominance and global strategic leadership,” the White House said.
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director Michael Kratsios, who will oversee the project, said that the initiative aims to connect “world-class scientific data with the most advanced American AI to unlock breakthroughs in medicine, energy, materials science, and beyond.”
Under Trump’s executive order, Kratsios has the authority to work with federal agencies to integrate “appropriate and available agency data and infrastructure” into the platform.
He is also responsible for overseeing cybersecurity protocols that use “uniform and stringent data access and management processes” for non-federal collaborators and establish high standards of vetting and authorization for platform users and collaborators.
Kratsios is required to submit annual reports to Trump under the order, detailing the platform’s status, progress integrating DOE labs and federal partners, levels of user and student engagement, key research outcomes, results from public-private collaborations, and any additional support needed to meet mission goals.
Within 90 days, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright must report back to the White House on systems and data available to support the program, including those from industry partners.
What is unclear under the order is how the Genesis Mission will be funded, especially as rising energy costs associated with AI take center stage in national politics.
Trump’s order also comes as his administration has taken efforts to ramp up AI innovation, such as those priorities outlined under the White House’s national AI strategy released in July, and the DOE’s announcement last month of new supercomputers at two of its national labs.