In brief
- President Trump appointed the first members of his President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
- The council will be co-chaired by David Sacks and Michael Kratsios, with appointees including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and Oracle founder Larry Ellison.
- PCAST will advise on “opportunities and challenges that emerging technologies present to the American workforce.”
President Donald Trump has named tech leaders including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to his President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), joining a group of other prominent AI and tech industry founders and executives.
The council, established by executive order and announced by the White House on Wednesday, will be co-chaired by entrepreneur David Sacks—previously the White House AI and crypto czar—and former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios.
The 13 initial appointees also include Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, AMD CEO Lisa Su, and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, along with Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and prominent crypto venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.
Other members include fusion energy executives Jacob DeWitte and Bob Mumgaard, former Google quantum computing researcher John Martinis, entrepreneur David Friedberg, and Oracle CEO Safra Catz.
The council can comprise up to 24 members, with additional appointments expected “in the near future along with information about the Council’s first meeting,” according to the White House statement.
According to the White House, PCAST will focus on topics related to “the opportunities and challenges that emerging technologies present to the American workforce, and ensuring all Americans thrive in the Golden Age of Innovation.” The appointment follows a historical precedent dating to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Science Advisory Board in 1933.
Just last week, the White House released a national policy framework for AI, which outlined recommendations to Congress regarding national standards for AI that could be regulated by existing federal agencies instead of creating a new regulator for the purpose.
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