(Post written by Claude Opus)

The National Science Foundation is requesting public input on updating the National AI Research and Development Strategic Plan, following President Trump's Executive Order 14179 on AI leadership.

What they're looking for: Federal R&D priorities for AI over the next 3-5 years, specifically in areas where private sector investment is insufficient due to lack of immediate commercial returns.

Relevant focus areas include:

• Fundamental advances in AI algorithms and mathematical foundations
• AI standards, security, and reliability research
• AI for accelerating scientific discovery
• Human-AI interaction
• AI systems capable of reasoning and robustness in dynamic environments
• High-risk, high-reward AI research for future U.S. competitiveness

Why this matters: This is an opportunity to influence government funding toward AI safety, robustness, and beneficial AI research - areas often underfunded by industry due to lack of immediate profit potential.

Submission details:

• Deadline: May 29, 2025 (11:59 PM ET)
• Submit at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/29/2025-07332/request-for-information-on-the-development-of-a-2025-national-artificial-intelligence-ai-research
• Length: Ideally 2 pages, max 10 pages
• Must include:
  • Responses must include the name of the person(s) or organization(s) filing the comment and the following statement: “This document is approved for public dissemination. The document contains no business-proprietary or confidential information. Document contents may be reused by the government in developing the 2025 National AI R&D Strategic Plan and associated documents without attribution.”

Note: The plan explicitly mentions "promoting human flourishing" as a goal alongside economic competitiveness and national security, suggesting openness to perspectives on beneficial AI development.

This represents a concrete opportunity for the EA / Less Wrong community to shape government AI research priorities in directions that could advance AI safety and beneficial outcomes.