Creating a National Strategic Computing Initiative

Overview

Introduction
Executive Order 13702, signed by President Barack Obama on July 29, 2015, establishes the National Strategic Computing Initiative (NSCI). This initiative is designed to coordinate a federal strategy in high-performance computing (HPC) research, development, and deployment. The order recognizes the crucial role of computational capability in maintaining economic competitiveness and accelerating scientific discovery, reinforcing the need for the United States to sustain and enhance its leadership position. The establishment of the NSCI underscores a holistic approach involving multiple federal agencies, industry, and academia to address these objectives.

Strategic Objectives
The executive order outlines five strategic objectives that focus on delivering an exascale computing system, enhancing the coherence between simulation and data analytic computing technologies, and preparing for the post-Moore’s Law era. These objectives reflect an understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by evolving technology landscapes and the increasing demand for computational power. By adopting a "whole-of-government" approach, the NSCI aims to achieve these objectives through cross-agency collaboration and partnerships with the private sector and academia.

Agency Roles and Responsibilities
The implementation of the NSCI hinges on the collaboration of designated lead, foundational, and deployment agencies. The Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD), and National Science Foundation (NSF) are designated as lead agencies, each leveraging their strengths in HPC. The DOE focuses on exascale computing and simulations, the NSF on broadening the HPC ecosystem and workforce development, and the DOD on data analytics. Foundational agencies like the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are tasked with pioneering future computing paradigms. Deployment agencies such as NASA and NOAA ensure that the federal missions are aligned with the developed capabilities.

Implementation and Oversight
To maintain accountability and coordinate efforts, the order establishes an Executive Council co-chaired by leaders from the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Office of Management and Budget. The council is responsible for aligning agency actions with the NSCI's objectives and ensuring efficient implementation. An initial implementation plan is to be developed within 90 days of the order, followed by annual updates and progress reports to the President. Public-private collaboration is also promoted to ensure comprehensive engagement in achieving technological goals.

Broader Context and Goals
Executive Order 13702 positions the U.S. government as a driving force in advancing computing technology, using federal resources strategically to push the boundaries of high-performance computing capabilities. The initiative reflects the Obama administration's goal of leveraging federal agency strengths in conjunction with industrial and academic contributions to meet evolving computational demands and maintain national competitiveness in scientific and technological advancements.

Legal and Policy Implications

Federal Coordination
The creation of the National Strategic Computing Initiative represents a notable shift in coordinating federal efforts on high-performance computing. The executive order itself does not establish new legal authority but rather leverages existing structures to unify federal department capabilities. This coordination promotes the efficient use of federal resources and provides a clear mandate for inter-agency collaboration, minimizing redundant computing efforts across different federal bodies.

Regulatory Implications
The order primarily sets strategic goals rather than imposing specific regulations, but it does pave the way for future regulatory impacts. By emphasizing public-private collaborations and expanding agency roles in research and development, it sets the stage for regulatory harmonization across involved sectors. This could lead to policy changes that facilitate rapid technological advances while addressing data privacy, security, and intellectual property rights.

Budgetary Considerations
The order suggests potential budgetary shifts as agencies seek funding adjustments for increased research activities, new computational systems development, and workforce training. Although the executive order does not mandate financial obligations, it highlights the need for sustained investment over several years to support the initiative's objectives, potentially redirecting resources within federal budget allocations.

Impact on Scientific Policy
The order enhances scientific policy by highlighting the importance of computing technologies in scientific discovery, which could reshape research funding priorities. Supporting high-performance computing positions computational science as a key pillar in enhancing national capabilities, potentially influencing broader federal and academic funding discussions for scientific endeavors.

Technological Paradigms
The order's emphasis on preparing for the post-Moore's Law era highlights a normative push towards embracing new technological paradigms. This focus influences broader technological and engineering priorities, aligning future policies to support disruptive computational advances that could reshape sectors like healthcare, energy, and cybersecurity.

Who Benefits

Federal Agencies
Federal agencies involved in the NSCI benefit from enhanced inter-agency collaboration and access to advanced computing resources. These agencies, such as the DOE and DOD, can leverage new capabilities to support their missions, such as optimizing national security simulations or advancing energy modeling efforts, showcasing practical benefits.

Technological and Academic Sectors
The order provides strategic advantages for the technological sector, particularly companies developing advanced computing hardware and software. By fostering public-private partnerships, these corporations gain opportunities to collaborate on federal efforts, accelerating product development. Academic institutions also benefit from increased research funding and workforce development, positioning them as central players in technological innovation.

Industry Research and Development
Companies engaged in R&D benefit from increased funding and collaborative opportunities driven by the executive order. The focus on futuristic computing paradigms allows these companies to efficiently direct resources toward cutting-edge projects, potentially expanding their market reach and establishing leadership within the tech industry as HPC gains prominence.

Scientific Community
The scientific community gains significantly as the initiative prioritizes computational capabilities essential for data-intensive research. Enhanced computational technology expedites scientific discoveries, potentially leading to global advancements in fields like climatology, genomics, and physics. HPC advancements enable researchers to conduct complex simulations and analyses, boosting the pace and scope of research.

Economic Competitiveness
The broader national economy benefits from high-performance computing advancements, which enhance productivity across multiple sectors. Improved computing infrastructures empower industries from finance to manufacturing to optimize operations and leverage big data analytics, aiding in maintaining economic competitiveness through technological prowess.

Who Suffers

Smaller Tech Firms
Although the emphasis on public-private partnerships suggests broad collaboration, smaller tech firms may find themselves at a disadvantage compared to larger players more suited to partnering with federal agencies. This potential imbalance could limit growth and innovation opportunities for smaller firms unable to scale to engage with larger companies or governmental demands.

Industries Unrelated to HPC
Industries not directly tied to high-performance computing may perceive a relative disadvantage, as federal investments are heavily directed towards HPC-related initiatives. This focus could lead to reduced attention or slight funding contractions for other sectors not identified as strategic priorities in the high-tech landscape.

Federal Budget Allocation
The focus on HPC initiatives may prompt debate over budgetary allocations within federal spending. Critics of directed investments could argue that prioritizing high-performance computing comes at the expense of other important technological or social priorities, leading to competition for resources not reflective of broader federal responsibilities.

Educational Institutions with Limited Resources
While academia broadly benefits, institutions with limited funding may struggle to integrate new technologies into their programs. Smaller universities, in particular, may face challenges scaling to the workforce needs outlined by the NSCI, leading to disparities in educational outcomes based on institutional resources and access.

Certain Workforce Segments
Certain workforce segments could face disruptions due to rapid advancements catalyzed by increased HPC focus. Workers in roles that technological advancements streamline or automate may find themselves displaced or required to adapt to new computational tools, necessitating substantial reskilling investments.

Historical Context

Preceding Initiatives
Executive Order 13702 aligns with previous initiatives under past administrations to leverage technological advancements as a cornerstone of economic strength and scientific progress. The focus on high-performance computing builds on initiatives like the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991, which stimulated the development of the National Information Infrastructure, showcasing a history of using technology as a national competitive advantage.

Obama Administration's Technological Focus
This executive order fits within the Obama administration’s broader focus on technology and innovation, which included promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) developments. Reinforcing America's leadership in research and innovation, with computing power as a critical factor, reflects the administration’s dedication to educational and industrial growth policies.

Ideological Threads
The order reflects the Obama administration’s ideological emphasis on collaboration for technological advancement. Public-private partnerships and cross-agency strategies underscore a belief in harnessing collective expertise as vital for solving national challenges, promoting innovation through unified efforts.

Global Competition Aspect
The competitive global landscape for technological supremacy became a significant driver of policy focus, especially as other nations intensified efforts in computational advancements. The NSCI signals a proactive move to ensure that the United States maintains an edge in global competition, particularly in light of technological advancements by competitors like China.

Technology and Economy Linkage
Technological advancement as an economic engine is a recurrent theme in U.S. policy, and the executive order exemplifies this linkage. By investing in HPC, the Obama administration underscores technological infrastructure as fundamental to national economic resilience and scientific excellence, perpetuating a tradition of innovation-driven growth.

Potential Controversies or Challenges

Resource Allocation Debate
A potential point of controversy emerges from debates on federal resource allocation. Critics may question if the required investment aligns with balanced federal budget priorities, leading to debates over whether funding sufficiently balances between high-tech initiatives and pressing social or economic equity measures.

Sectoral Disparity and Equity Concerns
Equity concerns arise where initiatives perceived to benefit technologically advanced sectors receive priority, potentially overshadowing other sectors or workforce populations lacking direct access. These disparities may motivate policy critiques centered on whether economic goals align fairly with social inclusivity trends.

Ensuring Collaborative Integrity
Multi-agency initiatives present operational challenges in ensuring consistent, collaborative efforts across departments. Bureaucratic boundaries could hinder progress or integration success, raising concerns about execution effectiveness and requiring complex coordination mechanisms to achieve outcomes.

Intellectual Property Challenges
Intellectual property disputes could emerge as public-private collaborations intensify. The development and sharing of new innovations require clarity on intellectual property rights, potentially leading to legal challenges over ownership or the balance between innovation and commercialization in collaborative frameworks.

Long-term Viability and Adaptation
Critics may question the long-term viability of the initiative's adaptability to rapidly changing technological landscapes. Ensuring the NSCI remains reflective of emerging computing paradigms could necessitate regulatory adaptability, possibly met with resistance from traditional policy frameworks, leading to legislative tensions.