NIH Common Fund Program

Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund launched the Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI) program to set the stage for the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence.

NIH Common Fund Website

Overview

Artificial intelligence (AI) will help address complex biomedical challenges that have been beyond the reach of existing analytical methods. Bridge2AI will generate new “flagship” data sets and best practices for machine learning, a type of AI that allows machines (like computers) to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed. The biomedical research community generates a wealth of data; however, because it was generated for analysis using other computational and statistical tools, most data are not suitable for machine learning. By bringing AI and biomedical experts together with social scientists and humanists, the Bridge2AI program will help solve these problems.

View on YouTube

Goals

Bridge2AI program goals include:

Generating new flagship biomedical and behavioral data sets that are ethically sourced, trustworthy, well defined and accessible
Developing software and standards to unify data attributes across multiple sources and across types of data
Creating automated tools to accelerate the creation of FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) and ethically sourced data sets
Providing resources to disseminate data, ethical principles, tools and best practices
Creating training materials and activities for workforce development that bridges AI, biomedical and behavioral research communities

Progress

In May and June 2020, the Bridge2AI opened to the scientific community with the launch of two closely related funding announcements:

OTA-21-008: Data Generation Projects for the NIH Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI) Program
RFA-RM-21-023: Integration, Dissemination, and Evaluation (BRIDGE) Center for the NIH Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI) Program