Readout: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Workshop on Artificial Intelligence and Weather Prediction

On May 6, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hosted a joint workshop on the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) and to transform weather prediction. Biden-Harris Administration leaders joined experts from academia and the private sector to discuss new developments, current challenges, and potential cross-sector collaboration to best utilize AI for weather prediction to improve Americans’ ability to protect lives and property as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. 

Participants covered a wide range of topics, including anticipating benefits and challenges of AI for weather prediction, building and maintaining trust in AI systems, and exploring scientific unknowns that pose the biggest challenges. Early results using AI and data-driven models show enhanced skill in predicting extreme life-threatening events like hurricanes, winter storms, and heat waves — highlighting the opportunity of these new models as valuable tools in the suite used to produce forecasts that protect lives and property.

Through the workshop, NOAA strengthened its commitment to working with partners to build the infrastructure for trustworthy weather AI models that support decision making. A critical next step is expanding the reach and accessibility of NOAA data products to better serve AI users across sectors.

Virtual and in-person workshop participants included representatives from:

Academia

• California Institute of Technology
• Colorado State University
• New York University
• University of Albany
• University of California at San Diego
• University of Colorado
• University of Florida
• University of Maryland
• University of Oklahoma
• University of Washington

Federal Agencies

• U.S. National Science Foundation
• U.S. Department of Energy
• U.S. Department of Defense

Private sector

• Amazon Web Services
• Google
• Microsoft
• Nvidia
• The Weather Company

Research

• The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
• The National Center for Atmospheric Research

Learn more about the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to advance responsible AI research, development, and deployment. For more information about how NOAA is harnessing AI to improve weather forecasting visit the NOAA Center for Artificial Intelligence.

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