President Biden names HSC’s AIM-AHEAD program in Executive Order
On October 30, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order establishing regulations and standards on the use of artificial intelligence and named a program at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth as a major part of his administration’s strategy going forward.
The Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity, or AIM-AHEAD program, a National Institutes of Health-funded national consortium created in partnership with HSC, was named by the president as an important part of his plan to “advance responsible AI innovation by a wide range of health care technology developers that promotes the welfare of patients and workers in the healthcare sector.”
The program’s goal is to ensure that underrepresented communities and minority groups are being included and fairly represented as AI and ML technology continues to rapidly grow. Under President Biden’s new approach to AI, his administration will prioritize “accelerating grants awarded through … AIM-AHEAD and [showcase] current AIM-AHEAD activities in underserved communities.”
In 2021, Congress awarded HSC $102 million in funding to lead the AIM-AHEAD coordinating center. The coordinating center consists of several cores at various institutions across the nation, with the leadership core housed at HSC under the direction of Dr. Jamboor K. Vishwanatha, vice president of HSC’s Institute for Health Disparities.
“The specific mention of AIM-AHEAD in the Executive Order is a testament to the important work that AIM-AHEAD program is doing in engaging our underserved communities and increasing researcher diversity,” said Vishwanatha. “The AIM-AHEAD coordinating center brings established trusted relations with the stakeholder communities in accomplishing our goals consistent with the Executive Order.”
Since it began, the program has rapidly expanded to include seven programs and funded 165 projects, including two fellowships. Other projects aim to provide underserved communities with the resources needed to expand their AI/ML capabilities, to fund small-scale, hub-specific pilot studies focused on particular issues within a community, and to develop research that uses AI/ML to address health disparities across the nation.
AIM-AHEAD is expected to continue growing in size and scope as this emerging field continues to rapidly expand.
The AIM-AHEAD coordinating center is supported by NIH under OT2OD032581 to Univ of North Texas Health Science Center.
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