Digital agriculture, the AI-Ready America initiative, and opportunity for broadband providers

The National Science Foundation recently announced a new funding opportunity for its TechAccess: the AI-Ready America initiative, which seeks to “expand access to AI knowledge, tools, training, and capacity building so all Americans can participate in—and benefit from—the AI economy.” The NSF is planning to invest $1 million per year—for three to four years—to fund “AI-Ready Coordination Hubs” in all 50 states in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Small Business Administration. Telecompetitor reached out to the NSF and USDA-NIFA to discuss what the AI-Ready America initiative means for broadband providers. A spokesperson from the NSF said, “We would welcome any and all resources that could positively contribute to the AI-Ready America vision, and that would include broadband providers connecting with their state Coordination Hubs to build out necessary enabling digital infrastructure.”