Policy
Trump’s FY27 budget proposes boosts and cuts to tech operations
Agencies like CISA, NIST and the IRS would see notable reductions in their budgets for next year, while programs at Energy and the VA would get additional financial support.
Artificial Intelligence
7 tech companies commit to protect consumers from rising electricity prices
President Donald Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge was announced during his State of the Union address and is intended to alleviate the burden of AI-related infrastructure costs.
Emerging Tech
Energy announces $352M in funding for frontier science
The agency will make funding available to research teams looking to solve the scientific challenges underpinning next-generation energy technologies.
Artificial Intelligence
Lawmakers from both parties back data center permitting reform
Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., estimates the U.S. will need “about 85 gigawatts [more] a year in order to keep pace with our demand.”
Artificial Intelligence
Trump unveils Big Tech pledge to offset rising data center energy costs
President Donald Trump’s national address touched on the rising energy costs incurred by increasing AI use, in addition to reinforcing his administration’s imperative to tackle fraud in government programs.
Exclusive
Cybersecurity
Energy Department patched flaws enabling email impersonation in critical minerals system
The vulnerabilities could have let malicious users masquerade as agency officials, potentially misleading researchers, contractors and others.
Emerging Tech
Getting quantum tech from research to commercialization requires partnership, federal experts say
Federal experts working in quantum information sciences and technology mapped out commercialization paths for quantum technologies, specifically quantum computing, at a Thursday hearing.
Artificial Intelligence
Inside the White House meeting on its AI Genesis Mission
Radical AI’s CEO, who participated in the meeting, said there was a goal-oriented, partnership-driven focus for Genesis Mission and the ways it can change how AI and science work together.
Artificial Intelligence
AI, quantum computing, fusion energy remain Energy’s top research priorities
Energy Undersecretary for Science Darío Gil walked House lawmakers through the agency’s research priorities for the AI-centric Genesis Mission and beyond.
Artificial Intelligence
White House launches Genesis Mission to spur AI with federal assets
The Genesis Mission initiates a new artificial intelligence experimentation platform, linking agencies with federal data to spearhead advanced AI use cases and evaluate “experimental outcomes.”
People
Energy names its third permanent CIO since the start of Trump 2.0
Dawn Zimmer has had multiple stints this year as the department’s acting CIO.
Emerging Tech
Energy allocates $625M for national labs’ quantum research
Funding for research centers at five national laboratories is intended to support U.S. advancements in quantum information sciences and technology.
Emerging Tech
Energy announces roadmap for fusion science and technology
Energy Secretary Chris Wright discussed the plan to rapidly scale the U.S. fusion energy generation, highlighting the important role that the nation’s network of national labs will play in the effort.
Artificial Intelligence
Senators propose federal approval framework for advanced AI systems going to market
Bipartisan legislation from Sens. Hawley and Blumenthal would create a rigorous safety evaluation program and require advanced AI model developers to participate before being used in interstate or foreign commerce.
Artificial Intelligence
How a national lab is using data and AI to try to speed up permitting
The work to get better environmental permitting data began under Biden and is continuing under Trump.
Artificial Intelligence
Energy announces first 4 AI data center sites on federal lands
Four federal facilities have been selected to host new artificial intelligence-ready data centers, with help from private sector partners.
Emerging Tech
New NSF telescope aims to discover unknowns in space
The Legacy Survey of Space and Time telescope at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory leverages novel technological systems to search for interstellar objects and study dark matter.
Artificial Intelligence
Public-private partnerships need more ‘efficiency,’ Energy official says
The agency’s national labs can offer high performance computing capabilities for artificial intelligence innovation, several leaders noted, but it requires an expedited negotiation process.
Emerging Tech
Energy, NVIDIA and Dell unveil new planned supercomputer
The latest public-private sector collaboration brings the new Doudna supercomputer to Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in California to pursue advancements across emerging tech and scientific fields.
Artificial Intelligence