Federal officials have largely come around to the idea that research funding is crucial for U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence, but there are ways to accelerate innovation besides pouring in more money, according to tech experts. For one, they said, the government could map a long-term strategy for advancing the technology. "The U.S. has been slow in making this a national imperative," Dean Garfield, president and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council, said Thursday on a panel hosted by Politico. "The signal that comes from the top … is critically important here and has the opportunity to really catalyze that action in a way that wouldn't happen without it." The Office of Science and Technology Policy on Wednesday requested industry input on updating an AI research and development strategy the White House published in 2016.