The Trump administration has pledged to invest in artificial intelligence. However, a promising program using AI to solve weather-related problems has lost funding from the National Science Foundation.
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The Trump administration has promised to increase investment in artificial intelligence, but recently stopped federal funding for a program dedicated to solving weather-related problems using AI. NPR's Katya Riddle explains.
KATIA RIDDLE, AUTHOR: Sometimes people ask Amy McGovern how she, a self-proclaimed meteorologist and meteorologist, became an expert in artificial intelligence.
AMY MCGOVERN: I've been doing AI since before AI was cool, so here's my answer to that question. I received my Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence and I received my Ph.D. in 2002.
RIDDLE: Fast forward to today: McGovern runs a weather institute that uses deep learning artificial intelligence. They take into account data such as air and water temperatures, as well as time of day, to make accurate forecasts. One example of what they are working on is sea turtles.
MCGOVERN: That's a good one because everyone loves sea turtles.
MYSTERY: During the winter, sometimes the water in Corpus Christi Bay, Texas, becomes unusually cold. Turtles swimming below the water's surface become so cold that they stop moving and float to the top, where they can be hit by boats.
MCGOVERN: And if they run over all these cold-stunned turtles, they kill a lot of endangered turtles. So we have an artificial intelligence technique that will confidently predict these cold-shattering events, and they can use it to close the bay. And indeed, rescuers go out and save the turtles.
RIDDLE: McGovern says the effort is saving hundreds of thousands of dollars by limiting the time the bay must be closed due to turtle-related delays. The Weather Institute is a collaboration between seven universities. Other things they are working on include improving hail and hurricane forecasting and improving visibility for cars and planes during weather events. In June, McGovern received an email from the National Science Foundation. This is the agency funding the initiative.
MCGOVERN: I opened my phone to check my email and just stood there. I said, I can't believe this just came.
RIDDLE: Funding for the program, the email said, will not be renewed. They've already received $20 million. They expected another 20 million over the next five years.
MCGOVERN: And I thought, how can we not be funded for this? You know, we didn't receive a grant to study something esoteric that doesn't change lives.
ALAN GERARD: You know, this kind of research takes a lot of time because it's very complex.
MYSTERY: Alan Gerard is the former director of NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory. He is not involved in the project.
GERARD: Making these, you know, critical life-saving decisions about tornadoes, flash floods, you know, hurricanes, it's really hard to imagine how someone… another group would be able to unwind this very quickly.
RIDDLE: The Trump administration has pledged to invest billions in artificial intelligence initiatives. In response to questions about why the program was cut, the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement that the program was, quote, “wasting taxpayer dollars to put climate change hysteria into artificial intelligence models.” Current and former NSF employees who spoke to NPR had other theories. Kevin Johnson recently quit his job at the agency. He doesn't know why this particular program was cut, but says he's not surprised.
KEVIN JOHNSON: It looks like it could have been done in anticipation of budget cuts.
RIDDLE: While federal spending for FY26 is generally approved, the question is exactly how much money agencies will receive. The President proposes cutting the NSF budget by more than half. The agency funds all types of science, from STEM education and workforce development to biotechnology and advanced manufacturing. In anticipation of these big cuts, Johnson said program staff, like himself, began to control their own spending.
JOHNSON: Threats of budget cuts absolutely impacted the decision-making process in our division, and I think in almost every NSF directorate.
MYSTERY: The National Science Foundation's budget for next year hangs in the balance due to the government shutdown. But Johnson adds that even the threat of future cuts is already harming the cause of science. Katie Riddle NPR News.
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