{"id":2089738,"date":"2023-11-03T22:41:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-04T02:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-rapid-pace-of-innovation-calls-for-a-drastic-revamp-of-the-national-science-foundation\/"},"modified":"2023-11-03T22:48:27","modified_gmt":"2023-11-04T02:48:27","slug":"the-rapid-pace-of-innovation-calls-for-a-drastic-revamp-of-the-national-science-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-rapid-pace-of-innovation-calls-for-a-drastic-revamp-of-the-national-science-foundation\/","title":{"rendered":"National Science Foundation needs a major overhaul due to rapid innovation."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-rapid-pace-of-innovation-calls-for-a-drastic-revamp-of-the-national-science-foundation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2089738&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>Commentary<\/h2>\n<p>Can you name one great innovation funded by \u200dOpenAI? How about one\u200b funded by Google? There\u2064 are plenty. But where are all \u2062the innovations from the National Science Foundation (NSF)?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2023\/10\/30\/fact-sheet-president-biden-issues-executive-order-on-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-artificial-intelligence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">President Biden\u2019s executive order\u2063 on \u2063AI<\/a> expects the NSF\u2063 to\u2064 work to\u2064 \u201cpromote the adoption of leading-edge privacy-preserving technologies by \u2064federal agencies.\u201d The NSF\u200c controls around\u2063 $10 billion of taxpayers\u2019 money, according to their website,\u2063 \u201cto promote the\u2062 progress of science,\u201d and it \u201cenvisions\u2063 a\u200c nation that \u2063capitalizes on new\u2063 concepts in science and \u2062engineering and provides\u2062 global leadership \u200din\u2063 advancing research and education.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It has the power to fund up to $100 million or probably even more in research infrastructure\u2063 costs. Why, then,\u200b are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-rapid-pace-of-innovation-calls-for-a-drastic-revamp-of-the-national-science-foundation\/\" title=\"National Science Foundation needs a major overhaul due to rapid innovation.\">general-purpose widely impacting breakthroughs\u200b similar<\/a>\u2063 to\u200b OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT not coming out\u2064 of the\u200b funds lately? Why \u200ddoes\u2063 the NSF website not at least list some major\u2062 widely used products \u2063it funded in the\u200b last decade?<\/p>\n<p>There have been many critical scientific phenomena, such as the \u200cmental health <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/health\/health-news\/social-media-mental-health-anxiety-depression-teens-surgeon-general-rcna85575\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">issues<\/a> caused by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-this-average-american-is-voting-for-donald-trump\/\" title=\"Why This Average American Is Voting for Donald Trump\">social media<\/a>,\u2063 needing immediate attention in \u200dthe\u200c last few years. Why is the NSF not at the center of solving these issues? What ails the NSF?<\/p>\n<p>A simple survey involving human subjects requires Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals and whatnot in order to get published. A huge social experiment \u200dcalled social media was rolled out, and it is now causing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/minnesota\/news\/minnesota-along-with-dozens-other-states-is-suing-meta\/#:~:text=MINNEAPOLIS%20%E2%80%94%20Dozens%20of%20states%2C%20including,designing%20features%20that%20are%20addictive.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mental health \u2064issues, addiction<\/a>, and suicides. The NSF could have easily funded studies to predict \u2064the impact and propose solutions.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Related Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/rishi-sunak-says-risk-to-uk-from-ai-is-on-same-scale-as-threat-of-nuclear-war-5521704?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><br \/>\n<h3>Rishi\u2062 Sunak Says Risk to UK\u2062 From AI is on \u2063Same Scale as Threat of Nuclear \u2062War<\/h3>\n<p><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/uk-pledges-38-million-for-projects-in-africa-as-ai-summit-convenes-5520871?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><br \/>\n<h3>UK Pledges \u00a338 Million for Projects in Africa as \u200cAI Summit\u200c Convenes<\/h3>\n<p><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Apparently, \u200cthe NSF\u200c is \u200cnot getting its priorities \u200cright. \u2062For instance, a project\u2063 titled \u201cThe \u2064Development of Computational Thinking among Middle School Students\u2063 Creating Computer Games\u201d was awarded more than a\u200d million USD ($1,092,908.00) in 2009,\u2064 and the same Principal Investigator was awarded $701,767.00 in 2014 for a study \u200con \u201cCan Pair Programming Reduce the Gender Gap in Computing? A Study of Middle School Students Learning to \u2063Program.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I do\u2064 not think these projects made any\u200c difference \u2062to the \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utah-school-allows-parents-to-opt-out-of-black-history-month-curriculum-reverses-course\/\" title=\"Utah School Allows Parents To Opt Out Of Black History Month Curriculum, Reverses Course\">middle school students<\/a> even after nine\u2063 years.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/news-opinion\/nsf-grant-funding-is-racially-biased-study-finds-70279\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a> published last year found NSF grant funding to be \u200dracially biased. Having been \u2062at both\u200d ends of the grant funding \u200cprocess\u2014as a reviewer and a reviewee\u2014I see substantial \u200dscope\u2064 for improvement in the way the\u2064 grant application processing works. The turnaround time\u200b for a review \u2062of a grant application to\u2062 the NSF, \u200cat least in my case, was \u2063more than six months.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:427px\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>  \u2062Vishnu\u2063 Pendyala, assistant professor\u2062 in the Department of Applied Data Science at the College of Professional and Global Education at the San Jose State University campus on May 8, \u20622023. (Jim Gensheimer\/Courtesy of Vishnu Pendyala)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>In rapidly\u2063 progressing areas like generative AI, that kind of timeframe can obsolete the proposed ideas and create an entirely newer body of scientific knowledge. Some of the\u2064 comments \u200cmade in the reviews that\u200c I received reflect upon the ignorance of the\u2062 reviewers. Apparently, \u200bthere are no binding criteria for selecting the reviewers, nor is there a mandate for recusal when the reviewer does not \u2064have the knowledge to judge the proposed \u200cideas.<\/p>\n<p>Although they perform the most important function of the NSF, namely, help with the adjudication of the grant\u200c applications, the reviewers are \u200cneither accountable nor sufficiently paid to demand accountability. It is\u200d widely rumored that you need\u2064 to be in the circles\u200b of the adjudicating\u200d reviewers and the program directors for your project to be\u2063 funded by the NSF.<\/p>\n<p>Apparent conflict of interest is taken seriously, but not latent biases such as ethnicity, \u200caffiliation, or even area\u200d of research. Equity, \u200ddiversity, and inclusion are given priority, but is it being taken too far so\u200d that merit is being \u200csacrificed at the altar\u200c of social justice? Science is advancing rapidly. How\u200b pragmatic and even\u200d ethical is it to take months to \u2062reject a \u2063researcher\u2019s ideas, that\u2064 too with flimsy review comments?<\/p>\n<p>This question\u2064 is not \u200djust \u200bfor NSF, but to all \u200dthose publishers and \u200cfunders who sit on applications and research papers for months. Can the lawmakers step in to make \u200ba difference?<\/p>\n<p>There may \u2063not be \u200dmany researchers who turn into lawmakers or lawmakers with researchers in their circles, but researchers are an important community that\u2063 lawmakers represent. In the long run, the\u2062 economy is \u200dprimarily driven by\u200c innovation, particularly\u2062 in science\u2064 and \u2063relevant fields.<\/p>\n<p>There must be a wide referendum on the practicalities of current \u2063research adjudication processes, and legislative action must\u200d ensue from it. To start with, the law can make it mandatory for\u2064 funding agencies\u2014and for that \u200bmatter, even journals\u2014to announce\u2064 review \u2064turnaround times.<\/p>\n<p>Reviewing plays a substantially important role. It\u2062 is well known that Google\u2019s PageRank was not accepted for the SIGIR \u200bconference in\u200b 1998 and Einstein\u2019s theory of relativity did not win the Nobel Prize\u2063 in 1921. But the scientific \u2062community hasn\u2019t learned from any of such incidents.<\/p>\n<p>Reviewing must be made a top priority, paid, and made \u2064accountable. Manual peer \u200dreviews must be\u200c supported and complemented by AI-based tooling. Compared\u2063 to the bias in AI \u2064models, human bias is complex. A number of factors such as ego, patriotism, and nepotism \u2062compound the\u200d problem.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">AI models are devoid of such factors, even if they are impacted by other kinds \u200dof bias. \u200bPresident Biden\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/women-shouldnt-accept-third-place-in-a-race-they-won\/\" title=\"Women Shouldn\u2019t Accept Third Place In A Race They Won\">executive order makes<\/a> it a priority to combat bias\u200c in AI models and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2023\/02\/16\/fact-sheet-president-biden-signs-executive-order-to-strengthen-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-across-the-federal-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">algorithmic discrimination<\/a>, and it\u2063 had better start\u200c with the Fed\u2019s use \u200bof AI.<\/div>\n<p>AI-based reviews have a much faster turnaround, and the technology is mature enough to give it a try. Significant projects and huge \u200bfunding must have \u200bmultiple rounds of oversight.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">In the days of\u2064 increasing \u200cscience <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edweek.org\/policy-politics\/opinion-science-skepticism-has-grown-whos-to-blame\/2023\/01\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">skepticism<\/a>, it is crucial that the NSF lives up to \u2063its mission \u201cto promote the progress of science.\u201d<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\"><em>Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author\u2063 and do not necessarily reflect views of his employer or any other\u2062 entities that he is affiliated with.<\/em><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\"><em>Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author\u200b and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch \u2064Times.<\/em><\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2>What \u200care the criteria for peer reviewer\u2062 selection?<\/h2>\n<p><span>Peer reviewer selection is critical \u2063to the publication \u200cprocess. It\u200d is based on many\u2064 factors, including expertise, reputation, specific recommendations, conflict of\u200b interest and previous performance. Speed, \u2064thoroughness, \u200csound reasoning and collegiality are highly desirable. Around times and hold themselves accountable for delays. Additionally, there should be clear guidelines and criteria for selecting\u2064 reviewers, ensuring that they have the necessary\u200c expertise to evaluate \u2063the\u2063 proposed ideas. <\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, funding agencies should prioritize \u2063transparency\u2064 and diversity in their review processes. An inclusive and diverse set of reviewers can bring \u200ca wider range of perspectives and minimize biases. While equity, diversity, \u200dand inclusion are important, they should \u200dnot\u200d compromise the merit-based evaluation of\u200b research proposals.<\/p>\n<p>The NSF plays \u2063a crucial role in\u2062 advancing\u200c scientific research and education in the United States. With \u200dits substantial funding capabilities, it has the potential to \u2063drive significant innovations and address pressing societal \u2064issues. However, it is essential for the NSF to reassess its priorities and allocate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Commentary questions the lack of notable innovations funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) compared to OpenAI and Google. President Biden&#8217;s executive order urges the NSF to encourage the implementation of advanced privacy-preserving technologies within federal agencies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":2089739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2089738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2089738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2533"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2089738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2089738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2089739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2089738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2089738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2089738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}