During his first visit to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Energy Secretary Chris Wright compared the urgency of the lab’s World War II beginnings to today’s global race to lead in artificial intelligence, calling for a “Manhattan Project 2.”
“We’ve seen continued technology innovation advancement in the United States of America, but we’re at a critical time again right now,” Wright said during a news conference on Friday, Feb. 28, in the atrium of Building 5700, a short walk from the world’s first exascale supercomputer, Frontier. Another technology of “immense import is hitting critical mass and is going to change our world in the next several years. That’s artificial intelligence.”
The Secretary was joined by U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann and U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty for a daylong tour of ORNL facilities. Both members of Congress serve on their Appropriations Committees, and Rep. Fleischmann chairs Energy and Water Appropriations in the House.
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