INL focused on AI innovation with launch of Genesis Mission
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IDAHO FALLS – America’s efforts to achieve “global technology dominance in the development of artificial intelligence” continues with a new executive order.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Nov. 24. It’s called Genesis Mission and its goal is to “build an integrated AI platform” to “unleash a new age of AI‑accelerated innovation and discovery.”
Although it’s a national effort, the Idaho National Lab is playing a leading role on the local level. In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Chris Ritter, the INL’s division director of scientific computing in AI, says the initiative focuses on enhancing three areas: energy, national security and science.
“It’s about building an interconnected platform across the entire Department of Energy and other agencies that will accelerate research in these particular areas,” Ritter says.
The INL is one of 17 national labs involved in a collaborative effort to improve AI performance and development. Ritter says that’s what makes Genesis Mission unique. Ritter talks more about it in the video above.
Although it’s an ongoing effort that will include many different projects, the INL is working towards specific milestones along the way. Ritter is currently unable to provide more specific information.
The INL is collaborating with numerous commercial partners to achieve these goals, some of which began prior to the launch of the Genesis Mission. In August, Aalo Atomics broke ground on a nuclear plant and data center at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex. The nuclear plant will produce electrical energy that will be used in AI projects.
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Commercial vendors for other AI-related projects include Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, as well as ChatGPT, Claude, and OpenAI.
In the push for global AI dominance, Ritter says it has the potential to be the second industrial revolution.
“Imagine being able to solve more problems that right now are out of reach.” says Ritter. “History will tell whether we achieve it, but I think this is a big deal.”
He says negative consequences are in store if America doesn’t stay competitive.
“If we don’t lead … new scientific discovery is no longer happening in the U.S., which ultimately means our products have (second rate) technology,” Ritter explains. “I don’t want to go into detail about the national security aspect, but hopefully people can think about it.”