President Donald Trump has appointed a group of prominent technology and artificial intelligence executives to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, known as PCAST. The council was established by executive order and announced by the White House on Wednesday. It will be co-chaired by entrepreneur David Sacks, who previously served as the White House AI and crypto czar, and former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios.
The initial roster of 13 members includes Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, two of the most influential figures in the AI industry. Also named to the council are Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and AMD CEO Lisa Su. Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell rounds out the group of major hardware and enterprise technology leaders.
The council also includes figures from the cryptocurrency and venture capital sectors. Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and prominent crypto venture capitalist Marc Andreessen are among the appointees. Their inclusion reflects the administration’s continued interest in digital assets and emerging financial technologies.
Several other members bring expertise in cutting-edge scientific fields. Fusion energy executives Jacob DeWitte and Bob Mumgaard are part of the group, as is former Google quantum computing researcher John Martinis. Entrepreneur David Friedberg and Oracle CEO Safra Catz also join the council in its initial formation.
The White House stated that PCAST can include up to 24 members in total, and additional appointments are expected in the near future. Information about the council’s first meeting is also anticipated to be released alongside those further appointments. The advisory body has historical roots stretching back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt‘s Science Advisory Board, which was established in 1933.
According to the White House, the council will concentrate on the opportunities and challenges that emerging technologies present to the American workforce, with a stated goal of ensuring all Americans benefit from what the administration calls the Golden Age of Innovation. The formation of PCAST follows closely on the heels of a national AI policy framework released by the White House just last week. That framework outlined recommendations to Congress for establishing national AI standards that could be enforced by existing federal agencies, rather than through the creation of a new dedicated regulatory body.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
