Duality

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As Nelson noted, NASA has been implementing AI tech for a while now, for a variety of purposes. For example, the agency uses AI in its advanced climate modeling work, to help get a better handle on the environmental impacts of global warming and how to mitigate them. Salvagnini will be in charge of mapping out NASA's broad vision for AI development and usage, and for spearheading innovation with the tech.

NASA has appointed its first-ever chief artificial intelligence (AI) officer, a move designed to ensure that the agency keeps up with a vital and rapidly evolving field. That person is David Salvagnini, who was serving as NASA's chief data officer. "Artificial intelligence has been safely used at NASA for decades, and as this technology expands, it can accelerate the pace of discovery," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement today (May 13) announcing the appointment.

That is also affecting how the NSF approaches the highest groundbased astronomy priority in Astro2020, support for the U.S. Extremely Large Telescope (US-ELT) program. That would provide funding for two large telescopes under development now, the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). NSF would partially fund both telescopes and get a share of observing time it would make available to the broader astrophysics community.

That is also affecting how the NSF approaches the highest groundbased astronomy priority in Astro2020, support for the U.S. Extremely Large Telescope (US-ELT) program. That would provide funding for two large telescopes under development now, the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). NSF would partially fund both telescopes and get a share of observing time it would make available to the broader astrophysics community.

One factor in that decision is the agency’s budget. NSF requested $11.3 billion in fiscal year 2024 but received less than $9.1 billion. Smith said NSF is still working on an operating plan for 2024, with no details yet how it would affect work at its various divisions, including astronomical sciences. That is also affecting how the NSF approaches the highest groundbased astronomy priority in Astro2020, support for the U.S. Extremely Large Telescope (US-ELT) program. That would provide funding for two large telescopes under development now, the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). NSF would partially fund both telescopes and get a share of observing time it would make available to the broader astrophysics community.