According to a new report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the United States must take additional steps to maintain its leadership in advanced computing. According to the report, the recently signed CHIPS Act is only the beginning of a larger effort to address potential threats to the country’s technological dominance.
While the CHIPS Act funds advanced chip research and development, the report notes that more work is needed in areas such as semiconductor manufacturing, supply chain security, and workforce development.
“Advanced computing is crucial to scientific improvement, economic growth and the competitiveness of U.S. companies,” says Neil Thompson, director of the FutureTech Research Project at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), who helped lead the study.
The report’s authors propose that the government collaborate with industry partners to develop a comprehensive strategy for maintaining U.S. leadership in advanced computing. This strategy would include increased investment in R&D as well as the development of new programs to aid in the development of a skilled workforce.
While the researchers acknowledge that the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 is an important step toward re-establishing the foundation of success for advanced computing, they also make recommendations to the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy, including international cooperation, noting that the U.S. should collaborate with its allies to develop common standards and guidelines for the development and use of advanced computing technologies.
There’s also talk of democratizing access to U.S. supercomputing by constructing more mid-tier systems that push the boundaries for many users, as well as developing tools that allow users to scale up computations with less up-front resource investment. Then, by funding many more electrical engineers and computer scientists with longer-term U.S. residency incentives and scholarships, the pool of innovators will be expanded.
The sources for this piece include an article in Csailmit.