Gore to Deliver a Boost for Computer Research

Vice President Al Gore is expected to announce in Anaheim today a White House budget request for nearly $1.8 billion in funds for information technology research--the largest increase ever in such funding.

The budget proposal, if approved by Congress, would provide an additional $366 million in funds targeted to expand the bounds of computer technology, a nearly 30% increase over last year. Officials said much of the money would go to long-term research being carried out at universities.

Among the areas that might benefit from the funding: research into computers that can speak and understand human language; scientific breakthroughs sparked by supercomputer simulations; and a new generation of software.

The initiative is called Information Technology for the Twenty-First Century. Gore plans to unveil it today at the Anaheim Hilton, where the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science is holding its annual convention.

Experts are calling the initiative a crucial investment needed to keep Americans on the cutting edge of technology.

“The danger is not that tomorrow we’ll fall off the cliff, but that 10 years down the road, or 15 years down the road it will happen if we don’t make some changes,” said Ken Kennedy, a Rice University computer science professor and co-chair of President Clinton’s advisory committee on information technology.

Gore’s planned announcement comes in the wake of last week’s State of the Union address in which President Clinton first proposed the increase. The added millions would be a boon to California universities--many of which have renowned technology programs.

“This money will provide opportunities for every campus in the University of California system as well as Stanford, Caltech and the state colleges,” said Susan Graham, a UC Berkeley professor who specializes in software research.

Some in the field have worried that a shift toward research with more immediate commercial possibilities is failing to lay the groundwork for major advancement in information technology. In the past, government funding of long-term research has led to such breakthroughs as the Internet and advanced microprocessors.

The government’s investment in technology still lags far behind other areas of research. More than $16 billion is available for medical research for example.

“Information technology accounts for 35% of economic growth,” said Kennedy. Despite the tremendous private industry in technology, he added, the government has an important role in the field.

‘I think this is an opportunity for the government to act as venture capitalists and ensure the economic well-being,” he said. “There are just many problems out there that will never be solved by private industry.”

In addition to the technology research, the initiative would make funds available for research on the social and ethical impacts of new technology. Those who study technology’s influence on people’s lives say it has been difficult to get grant money for their work.

“For us it is very exciting to have this available,” said Ken Kraemer, who heads the UC Irvine Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations. “There are very important economic and social issues that are tied up in how big information technology has become.”