Senate panel OKs defense bill with AI pilot program, boosted quantum research.
The United States Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) recently made a significant move by passing the fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signaling a major step forward for the Department of Defense in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing This groundbreaking legislation, spearheaded by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chairman and Ranking Member of the SASC, received an overwhelming 22-3 vote in favor of the bill on June 13 The NDAA is now set to proceed to the Senate floor for further deliberation At the core of the bill lie cutting-edge technologies, with key highlights including the launch of a pilot program aimed at optimizing AI-enabled software for the operations of DoD depots, manufacturing facilities, and shipyards Additionally, the bill mandates the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to establish a Quantum Scaling Initiative to bolster the development of quantum computing capabilities...
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