Whether it's the economy, energy, education, health care or national security, one of the common aspects of each of these challenges is that they require decision making in the face of uncertainty. This is one of the things that AI can excel at.

AI got a bad rap early on after promises that a "thinking machine" was right around the corner proved to be vapor, but it's a reality whose time is coming. We are making rapid advances in understanding the brain. We have cars that are starting to drive themselves. We have started to understand the mathematical origin of spontaneous behavior in fruit flies. There's a compelling theory on how the neocortex works. Many at the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence give estimates of 30-100 years to achieve strong AI.

AI could aid in making decisions on tax policy, bailout fund allocation and choosing between alternative energy choices, where currently decisions in those areas are often based on ideology, belief, or worse yet, special interests. It could help with terrorist network mapping, functional DNA analysis and many similarly difficult challenges.

Despite this, AI research, especially strong AI research, is horribly underfunded. Monetary returns aren't always immediately apparent, but isn't the possibility of a strong AI worth trying for? Aren't the immediate applications for weak AI obvious? If not the government funding this, then who? Do we want to risk not being the country where the first strong AI is developed?