LLNS may have excluded the wrong people in last VSSOP? The exclusions were based on outdated job categories and related skills. ULM are now thinking that in the future, job categories and functional areas will have to be re-defined. The next VSSOP/ISP will be based on the new categories and functional areas. The questions I have are: 1) Why didnt they think of that before the transition. It seems like their style is “change things as you go”. Planning is out the window! 2) Who will give input on the new changes? The next RIF apparently is going to be more lucrative than the VSSOP. Depending on the length of employment, a RIFed person, not only gets their 1 week pay per year of service but also from 30 to 120 days notice, essentially 30 to 120 days pay. Please feel free to comment on the rumors or add new ones you actually heard.
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LANL seems to think that AI research is just about having computers and people have nothing to do with it. Most LANL staff are now saying amongst themselves that LANLs AI efforts are poorly planed and have little hope of ever having impact.
LANL will never be the "AI" lab and there is little to no chance it will ever have any impact in this field. In fact I would venture to say that LANLs scientific impact is going to continue to decline.
I would guess if DOE really wants a AI lab they will need to start a new one, or it will be at ANL or ORNL. There was recent APS meeting which was the largest physics meeting of all time and I know for a fact that people from ex-LANL people at ORNL where telling everyone how much better it was and to get out of LANL.