Expanding AI Voices Act

This bill amends the National AI Initiative Act to create a new program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) that awards competitive grants to broaden participation in AI research, education, and workforce development, focusing on institutions and populations historically underrepresented in STEM.

Sec. 2, Expanding capacity in AI: The NSF Director, consulting other federal agencies, will make competitive, merit-reviewed awards to eligible institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (or consortia of them) to increase U.S. capacity and partnerships for AI research and development. Eligible institutions include those not among the top 100 in federal R&D spending over the prior three years, historically Black colleges, minority-serving institutions, Tribal colleges, and consortia of these. Awards can support partnerships with other universities, nonprofits, federal agencies, governments, and private entities, including AI research institutes. Funds may be used for developing or expanding AI research programs, faculty recruitment and development, bridge programs for graduate study, providing access to research resources like computing and data, community building for public-private collaboration, workshops to broaden workforce participation, integrating ethical practices into AI education, and other capacity-building activities. The NSF Director must conduct outreach to eligible institutions and engage participants from all U.S. regions, especially underserved communities and groups historically underrepresented in STEM. Awards must complement, not duplicate, existing programs. In making awards, the Director may consider how well applicants support diverse students (including first-generation undergraduates), geographic diversity, and relative resource constraints. The section defines key terms: historically Black college or university, minority-serving institution (including Hispanic-serving, Alaska Native-serving, Native Hawaiian-serving, predominantly Black, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving, and Native American-serving nontribal institutions), nonprofit organization (tax-exempt under 501(c)(3)), and Tribal College or University.