Schatz, Sheehy introduce bipartisan bill to use AI against wildfires, extreme weather

US Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaiʻi) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) have introduced the TAME Extreme Weather and Wildfires Act, a bipartisan measure that aims to leverage artificial intelligence to improve forecasting and disaster response to wildfires, hurricanes, floods and other extreme weather events.

“Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, more severe, and more deadly, and AI can be a powerful tool in saving lives and livelihoods,” Schatz said. “Our bill will harness AI’s immense processing and prediction capabilities to improve weather forecasts and help communities better prepare for and respond more quickly to extreme weather events.”

The bill would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop a US-based global weather dataset to train AI forecasting models, collaborate with private and academic sectors to create new AI applications and integrate AI-generated forecasts into those used by the public.

Sheehy said that while wildfires and other disasters cost hundreds of billions of dollars each year, federal response efforts haven’t significantly evolved in decades. “Now is the time for transformational innovation and leadership to prevent future tragedies and protect American families, homes and communities from disaster quickly and effectively,” he said.

Co-sponsors of the bill include Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.). A companion bill was introduced in the U.S. House by Representative Scott Franklin (R-Fla.).

In 2023, the US experienced a record 28 separate billion-dollar disasters, resulting in nearly 500 deaths. Currently, AI weather models are dependent on a dataset created and maintained by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The bill aims to bolster the security of AI weather models by requiring the development of a US weather dataset.

For full bill text, click here.