White House cuts to science funding threaten AI weather forecasting institute [View all]

Source: NBC News

Sept. 4, 2025, 3:50 PM EDT


The Trump administration is halting funding for a $20 million artificial intelligence institute designed to improve weather forecasting, a move that could sever a pipeline of scientists from receiving training while also hampering the country’s ability to assess the impacts of hurricanes and other weather disasters.

Amy McGovern, the director of the AI Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate, and Coastal Oceanography (AI2ES), said the National Science Foundation (NSF) informed the institute last month that it would not renew its five-year grant.

“It destroys it. There’s no other good way to say it,” said McGovern, a professor in meteorology and computer science at the University of Oklahoma. McGovern said the institute could close next year if it can’t find private funding. AI2ES is a collaboration among several universities to incorporate AI into weather forecasting and evaluate its trustworthiness.

The move to close AI2ES comes as the Trump administration is heavily investing in AI and accelerating data center construction. The administration’s own AI plan calls for the NSF to develop programs to evaluate AI systems and to build AI job training programs and more AI labs specializing in a range of scientific fields.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/white-house-cuts-science-funding-threaten-ai-weather-forecasting-insti-rcna228934