An Interview with Congressman Bill Foster – Applications of STEM

The Acronym recently interviewed the congressman from Illinois’s 11th District, Bill Foster. He was extremely knowledgeable on a range of topics, and generous with his time. In the interview, we explored the multifaceted and unusual career of a congressman who has transitioned from being a successful entrepreneur and a scientist at Fermilab to a significant role in government. He shared insights on how his extensive experience in physics and business has equipped him with valuable skills for addressing current national issues, particularly the challenges and opportunities presented by advances in artificial intelligence (AI). 

We discussed a wide range of topics, from applications of STEM in raising education standards, to addressing societal challenges (such as health crisis and climate change), and tackling misinformation. This comprehensive discussion provides a nuanced perspective on the role of technology and community involvement in shaping our society. The interview concludes with advice for young individuals interested in social activism, emphasizing the impact of starting local and the different levels of satisfaction and influence available through political engagement. 

Given the long interview, we split the topics in two parts: 1) Applications of STEM in issues relevant to our generation (this article), and 2) the role of the government and STEM in tackling societal problems. 

Part 1’s discussion begins here:

The Acronym: You have a very unique background as a congressman- you have been an entrepreneur and a scientist from Fermilab. So how did the skills you developed in these roles help you as a congressman in the government?

Rep. Foster: Well, my major career involved spending 23 years at Fermi National Accelerator Lab, where I did a variety of things, from analyzing physics experiment data to building the experiments and the giant particle accelerators. Interestingly, one of the biggest issues in Congress right now is what we should do to respond to the incredible advances in artificial intelligence. So, when issues like that come up, it’s useful to remember that, back in the 1990s, I was one of the first to start using neural networks to try to classify particle physics interactions. And of course, back then, we were using computers that were 10,000 times slower than what you have in your pocket today, but the general aspects of the technology are still relevant, and I have a good understanding of that technology, which is very useful.

My background as an entrepreneur is important because of the importance of small businesses to our economy. We’ve had a record number of small businesses in the last couple of years; a big part of that was a bunch of people deciding to pursue dreams they’ve been thinking about for all their lives. So, we’ve had just an incredible number of small business startups. Just remembering all of the times when our startup company almost went bankrupt—that is something that really allows me to talk to people who are so excited about starting their own businesses today.

The Acronym: Given your background as a scientist is really helpful in your daily dealings in Congress, how do you propose that we get the younger generation and future STEM leaders more interested in joining Congress and governing?

Rep. Foster: Well, it is tough. It’s a different set of skills, but there’s some overlap. The most important thing, which is not natural for scientists, is to be listeners; they tend to be talkers, frankly. However, if you’re involved in politics, you have to make sure that you understand the people you’re going to represent and what their struggles and worries are. For example, consider talking to young kids about where they think the job market will be ten years from now. Well, every time you turn on your computer, you see AI taking over another big chunk of the job market- you need to be able to listen to your constituents.   

The Acronym: Let’s talk about education- Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA) students are lucky because we have access to the highest level of STEM education. We have college level courses and access to advanced research and labs. But what about students in rural areas where there’s not as much awareness of STEM? What can leaders do to make sure that all students have the same access to STEM education.

Rep. Foster:  One of the concepts for IMSA was to accept students from all over the state of Illinois. My daughter attended IMSA more than a decade ago, and it was very much that way, which is healthy. If the only people you interact with are from the community you grew up in, you don’t get to see what the real world is like; you’re only experiencing your little part of it. So IMSA acting as a melting pot is one of the best things it does. It’s great to have a place where, as my daughter felt, she could be herself. 

However, one of the challenges is that IMSA represents only a small fraction of everyone being educated in Illinois. Education experience varies significantly in different areas – it depends whether you’re in a central city or in a tiny agricultural town. In my time in Congress, I represented both types of areas, including cities like Aurora, Joliet, and Elgin, which have central city districts with challenges very different from those of someone living out on a farm, where isolation is a major issue. One thing we can clearly do is ensure that people living in isolated or deprived areas have at least access to the internet, which is important.

One of the things I’m most proud of from the last session of Congress is that we established a funding mechanism to provide connectivity. This means if you are in a family that can’t afford it, or you’re by yourself and can’t afford an internet connection, there’s a significant federal-subsidy available to help you get at least a cell phone contract or a device. This is transformative because many jobs are found online, and you’re at a significant disadvantage without internet connectivity. I’m very proud of this achievement; it needs to continue because having more bandwidth obviously makes a difference.

The Acronym: Do you think that STEM and AI can help in raising awareness? And who should be responsible for driving an initiative like that?

Rep. Foster: I’ve been contemplating this specific problem for a long time. You know, I actually lost my campaign for Congress in 2010 to the Tea Party wave. Losing an election leads you to question, ‘What can I do with the rest of my life?’ At that time, my second priority was to explore the feasibility of developing an AI-driven tutor. Around 2011, I downloaded all the emotion recognition toolkits available, and attempted to use the webcam to decipher whether the student understood what the program had explained. Now, there are probably 50 or 100 startups doing essentially the same thing. The difference today is the significantly greater computing power and much more advanced algorithms, such as large language models, making these tools a reality.

For instance, Khan Academy is making substantial progress in its collaboration with OpenAI to develop an advanced AI tutor. They’ve utilized the thousands of videos they have as a training set for a large language model. As a result, there is essentially a single tutor that knows everything available on Khan Academy and can adapt to the students’ pace of understanding. This will be a tremendous advantage and, I believe, will become a significant part of the future of education.

However, what’s missing from this picture? The other crucial aspect of schools is socialization, helping students understand that success is significantly influenced by their ability to relate personally to others, not just their test-taking skills. Indeed, the ability to establish a personal connection, to look into someone’s eyes, is of great importance. This is a concern many have, especially with social media’s role in fostering isolation among children, leading to worries about the student mental health crisis. 

The Acronym: We’re currently dealing with a mental health crisis among youth. Is technology a friend or foe in this battle? Or both? And can AI help with this?  

Rep. Foster: I think it’s pretty clear that there is early and overexposure to cell phones. There was an article recently in which they plotted how unhappy people are as a function of the year they got their first cell phone. If you’re a woman who received a cell phone at the age of six, you have an almost 80% chance of being depressed and unhappy in your life. Whereas if you only got your cell phone when you’re 18, you, you know, have at least a 50% chance of being happy with your life. So, there’s pretty clear data that we’ve been doing a big, uncontrolled experiment on our children for a while. So that’s part of it. There are also problems with overexposure to social media. We have to understand that we can be manipulated and be aware of it. 

When you asked, “can AI help,” I’d like to create some sort of an economic model for people to produce an AI that’s on people’s side. For example, when you are going to download a piece of software, you have to scroll down through a million pages of an agreement.

I would like to have an AI that I trust to look through the agreement and say, “Okay, I just read this as a text that you don’t have time to read. And it looks like it’s mostly okay, but there are two things in this agreement that maybe you’ll be unhappy with. And with your permission, I would like to negotiate with a guy from that company, and see if you can get yourself excluded from those kinds of terms before I hit accept.” Like our economy is a managed competition between companies, if we can set up the same sort of managed competition between AI, I think that may be the germ of a solution. We need really smart, good programmers to spend their lives developing an AI that helps people instead of one that’s trying to just make money by exploiting people. 

The Acronym: Finally, what’s your advice to younger students who are starting to dip their toes into social activism and making a real change in communities?

Rep. Foster: My first piece of advice is to start local. By doing so, you can develop your skills. Many successful members of Congress began their political careers with small local issues, like organizing the neighborhood to advocate at the city council for a park instead of a large shopping mall. Addressing these smaller issues helps people realize that engaging in our democratic institutions can yield quick responses.

There’s a significant amount you can achieve at the local level with just a few people. Conversely, at the congressional or Senate level, you need to mobilize many more people, but you can still do a great deal of good at the local government level.

When considering at what level you want to serve, from a personal standpoint, being a local mayor is probably the most satisfying. A mayor can drive around and visit all the projects debated and developed in their city, leading and making decisions on local matters and witnessing the results first hand. For instance, our office has been working on making GLP-1 drugs affordable for people. As a scientist, I know that tens of millions of Americans will have their lives transformed because they can afford these drugs. I can calculate that these people exist, but I will never be personally thanked for it. At that level, you have more leverage to apply your talents, but you lose the personal connection of seeing the direct impact of your work. Therefore, there is satisfaction to be found at both ends of political involvement.

Part Two of the interview continues here (tackling societal problems with STEM and the government).