Sen. Barrasso testifies before the DOE on advanced computing

On Sept. 12, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), addressed the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) role in conducting advanced computing research in three specific areas – artificial intelligence, quantum computing and cybersecurity.

The hearing includes testimony from DOE’s Office of Critical and Emerging Technologies Director Helena Fu, DOE’s Science-Security Initiative Integration Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Dr. Shaun Gleason and American Policy Ventures Senior Fellow Dr. Divyansh Kaushik.

Sen. Joe Manchin, III (I-WV), chairman of ENR, began the hearing by stressing to the committee, “Computing technology is advancing rapidly across the globe, and the U.S. must proceed with both ambition and caution, particularly when it comes to our national security and public safety.”

In July, the DOE announced its roadmap for the Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence for Science, Security and Technology (FASST) initiative, which will give the U.S. the tools to deliver secure and dependable artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. 

“We can’t discuss this new era of emerging technology development without considering cybersecurity and broader national security implications,” Manchin adds. “We have seen the devastating effects of a cyberattack on our critical infrastructure like the Colonial Pipeline Attack in 2021, forcing the shutdown of the country’s most important fuel pipeline.” 

For the past several months, Manchin and Barrasso have been working with their colleagues on the Intelligence Committee to strengthen security for research policies and to secure the science performed at U.S. labs.

Opening remarks

The DOE has a network of 17 national labs which play a key role in U.S. technological innovations.

“Research into advanced computing is critical – critical to maintaining America’s economic growth, national security and leadership in the world,” Barrasso states.

He notes the DOE currently has the world’s two fastest supercomputers and a third supercomputer among the world’s top 10, advancing AI and quantum computing.

“These are two fields the People’s Republic of China (PRC) seeks to dominate,” Barrasso continues. “For this reason, the PRC watches nearly every move our national labs make. Our labs are under constant surveillance by a branch of China’s intelligence network focusing on science and technology.” 

According to a 2022 report titled “The Los Alamos Club” by Strider Technologies, between 1987 and 2021, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) targeted over 160 Chinese nationals working at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

“Today, thousands of non-U.S. resident Chinese nationals still work at our national labs, and I believe the majority of these foreign nationals strive to further scientific innovation and collaborate in good faith,” Barrasso says. “Yet, make no mistake, they are beholden to an authoritarian regime. Some of these Chinese nationals will see no other choice but to support the CCP through the theft of American research and technology.”

Congress required the DOE to devise a study of counterintelligence efforts at U.S. labs in 2020 and hired MITRE to conduct the study.

“In April of 2023, the MITRE Corporation produced an unclassified report, and upon receiving the report, the Secretary of Energy decided to classify it,” he adds. “The secretary reassigned the Director of the Department’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence without explanation, and I have asked the department to declassify the MITRE report and for the department to come clean with the American people, but the DOE has refused.”

Barrasso notes, “We can’t let our research and technology fall into the hands of China’s dictatorship. The department must dramatically increase its efforts to protect our research from our adversaries, and Congress must step in if the department fails to do its job.”

Additional testimony

During Fu’s testimony, she reiterates the importance of emerging technology and the ability to counter national security threats.

Her testimony explains how DOE is advancing and developing AI through FASST and how to improve the department’s ongoing efforts in quantum information science.

“In order to understand, accelerate and govern today’s technological advancements, our government must have internal capabilities to respond to national imperatives first and foremost,” Fu states. “As we execute these missions, we simply must have the latest tools and brightest experts to maintain critical capabilities.”

Gleason explains how Congress can help advance science through research opportunities.

“Our economic, energy and national security require we continue to invest and innovate to solve the grand challenges across AI, cyber and quantum fields,” he states.

“A good example of AI-driven, adaptive cybersecurity propelling the U.S. out of the reach of adversaries in both information and operational technology systems is our critical infrastructures, such as electrical grid, oil and natural gas systems, water treatment plants and manufacturing systems,” he adds.

While all of these systems provide essential services, the U.S. electric grid is the largest and most complex machine in the world, with approximately 60 million transformers of roughly 80,000 different types, 70,000 substations and 5.5 million miles of distribution lines, which increases the risk of cyberattacks.

“Solving this grand challenge requires regional partnerships and testbeds connected to a national cybersecurity coordination network,” he continues.

Kaushik closes the hearing by addressing the PRC and its intense competition with the U.S., aiming to dominate AI by 2030.

“Over the past seven years, they have increased their research and development budgets by 10 percent annually while engaging in sophisticated espionage to acquire technology,” Kaushik states. “This is not just economic competition but a strategic effort to reshape the global order.”

He explains breakthroughs powered by DOE’s supercomputing capabilities could revolutionize areas like material sciences, molecular dynamics and power grid resilience.

However, the PRC has announced the creation of its own national laboratories, which are explicitly designed to mimic and ultimately surpass the DOE complex.

“We can and must maintain our leadership in scientific collaboration, but on terms that protect our national interests,” he states. “This requires funding agencies, enforcement  authorities, universities and researchers to work closely together, strongly emphasizing educating researchers about potential risks and best practices.”

He concludes the path laid out during the hearing is undoubtedly challenging and will require sustained commitment and vigilant oversight, but the alternative – a world where the PRC dictates the rules for transformative technologies – is simply not an option the U.S. can entertain. 

Closing statements

The committee then questions the panel on increasing energy capabilities to support emerging AI technologies.

“I am concerned because electric power needs to be available, reliable and affordable to capitalize on these opportunities, and it is currently a major constraint on our ability to become the global leader in AI deployment. We’ve seen over 90 gigawatts of coal power retired in the last decade, dispatchable power gone,” Manchin states.

“The reality is, since 2010, we’ve seen the number of the computations we are putting towards AI models is doubling every six months. There’s no reason to believe it’s going to slow down anytime soon and would require more energy to connect to the grid,” Kaushik replies

Melissa Anderson is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.