Dr. Le Xie, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and associate director of energy digitization at the Texas A&M Energy Institute, gave expert advice during one of several virtual roundtable discussions held by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Department of Energy. The roundtable was convened to generate input on the responsible development of artificial intelligence (AI) for a clean energy transition.
The event was a result of a White House Executive Order issued on October 30, 2023, to devote research and resources to the development of trustworthy and secure AI applications in infrastructure systems.
Xie was one of the two university professor representatives invited to speak at the roundtable. Dr. Priya Donti, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also gave input, along with industry professionals and leading experts in the field of AI.
During the discussion, Xie addressed the urgent need for education and workforce development surrounding AI, saying that universities need to play a role in incorporating AI into the electric grid, power systems, education and workforce training.
He also discussed future research directions to explore involving large language models and how the electric energy industry prepares proper data sets for AI training. The emergence of models like ChatGPT offers the potential for development and progress. However, these models also raise the question of where to draw the line and set boundaries for the application of this technology.
“This a big challenge and also a big research opportunity because a lot of data is protected under Critical Energy Infrastructure Information,” Xie said. “Therefore, a lot of data, for good reasons, cannot be shared with the public. But AI training requires a lot of data, so how are we going to address that? I think there is a need for research partnerships between the Federal Government and university communities.”
“I'm very honored to be called upon for inputs that would shape some of the national research agenda on energy transition with AI as well,” Xie said. “Thanks to the support and help from our department and from colleagues at Texas A&M. It’s a great thing that our collective work is being recognized on the national stage.”