President Donald Trump on Wednesday named some of the most prominent figures in the American technology sector to his Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, making up a list that includes Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
The council, known as PCAST, will be co-chaired by AI and cryptocurrency “czar” David Sacks and Michael Kratsios, a technology investor who served as US Chief Technology Officer during Trump’s first term (2017-2021).
The list of appointees includes Trump ally Larry Ellison (Oracle) and Silicon Valley heavyweight Marc Andreessen, as well as Nvidia boss Jensen Huang.
“The United States has the opportunity to lead the world in AI. I am honored to join the president’s council and work with other industry leaders to help make this happen,” Zuckerberg said in a statement sent to AFP.
The Council, which has existed since the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, is purely advisory: it produces reports and recommendations at the request of the president, but has no regulatory or law enforcement powers.
In its previous formations, this group has spoken out on topics as diverse as pandemic preparedness, quantum computing or clean energy.
The appointments are the latest sign of the close ties Trump has cultivated with Silicon Valley since his return to the White House, a major change from his first term.
The growing closeness between their government and the technology industry has begun to generate some political backlash, and recent polls show that Americans believe that big technology companies have too much influence on Washington policy.
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