Top News

Big Tech backs US bill to make students AI-ready
05 May 2026

A bipartisan bill has been introduced by Senators Adam Schiff and Mike Rounds to promote "AI literacy" in schools.

The proposed legislation seeks to provide grants to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for this purpose.

The move comes as a response to significant funding cuts faced by the NSF under the Trump administration.

Leading AI firms such as OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft have shown their support for this initiative.

Defining AI literacy
Fact

The Literacy in Future Technologies Artificial Intelligence (LIFT AI) Act defines "AI literacy" as the ability to use artificial intelligence effectively. This includes having age-appropriate knowledge and skills to critically interpret outputs, solve problems in an AI-enabled world, and mitigate potential risks.

Bill empowers NSF director to award grants
Legislative details

The LIFT AI Act seeks to integrate "AI literacy" into the K-12 curriculum.

The bill empowers the new director of NSF to award grants on a merit-reviewed, competitive basis.

These grants would be given to institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (or a consortium thereof) for research activities aimed at developing educational curricula, instructional material, teacher professional development, and evaluation methods for AI literacy at the K-12 level.