Trump’s crackdown on international student visas could derail critical AI research
At some US universities, international students make up the majority of doctoral students in departments such as computer science. For example, at the University of Chicago, foreigners explained it 57% Data released by the school shows that a newly registered doctoral student in computer science last year.
International students often pay full tuition fees, providing funding that schools can use to expand their programs. As a result, foreign-born students generally do not receive educational opportunities from Americans, but rather create more slots overall. Report It was released earlier this month by the American Policy Foundation. Researchers from nonpartisan think tanks estimated that additional doctoral degrees awarded to international students in the STEM field were “associated with additional doctoral degrees awarded to domestic students.”
Limiting student visas and reducing the number of foreigners studying computer science “will have a major impact on the US field,” says Rebecca Willet, a professor at the University of Chicago, who focuses on the mathematical and statistical foundations of machine learning. Willett adds that the move “will run out of key pipelines of skilled professionals, weaken the US workforce and put the country’s position as a global leader in computing technology.”
Mehran Sahami, chairman of Stanford’s Computer Science Division, described changes to student visa policies as “counterfect.” He refused to share the number of foreign students enrolled in Stanford’s computer science program, including both graduate and undergraduate students, but he admits it is “a lot.”
“They add a lot to it and have been around for decades. It’s a way to bring the best and brightest mind to the US for studying and then contribute to the economy,” says Sahami. But now he is worried that his talent will “go to another country.”
Most Of the doctoral students in China and India, they say they intend to stay in the US once they graduate, but the majority of several other countries, such as Switzerland and Canada, have reported plans to leave.
Foreign-born STEM alumni who remain in the US often continue to work for American universities, private tech companies, or become the founder of Silicon Valley startups. Immigration was established or co-founded Almost two-thirds Among the top American AI companies, according to a 2023 analysis by the US Policy Foundation.
Economist William Razonic, who has extensively studied innovation and global competition, says the US experienced an influx of foreign students studying the STEM field in the 1980s, as fields such as Microelectronics and Biopharmaceuticals experienced a technological revolution.
During the same period, Razonic says he observed many American students opting to enter a financial career instead of hard science. “As a professor at both public and private universities in the US, it is my sense that foreign students pursuing a STEM career are important to the very existence of graduate programs in the relevant science and engineering fields,” Razonic tells Wired.
Governments and universities around the world have launched as the Trump administration works to limit the flow of international students and cut funding for federal research. Elaborate campaign To the court international student And American scientists want to take advantage of the rare opportunity to raise American talent.
“Hong Kong is trying to attract Harvard students. The UK is setting up scholarships for students,” says Shawn Carver, executive director of International House, a student housing centre in Berkeley, California. “They see this as brain acquisition, and for us, it’s brain drainage.”