President Trump has appointed members to a newly reestablished science and technology advisory council, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). And there are a fair few new faces in there—new kinds of faces, in fact, because the new board seems pretty business-heavy.
In general, the members so far—which total just 13—seem weighted towards science-y and certainly smart but nevertheless business-oriented people, unlike many members in previous councils, which were more academic and researcher-heavy.
Such advisory councils have existed since President Roosevelt’s Science Advisory Board. The previous one, reestablished by president Biden in 2021, also appointed AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su as a member, but there are plenty of new appointments, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Here’s the list:
Marc Andreessen – venture capitalist, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz and NetscapeSergey Brin – Google co-founder and current AI researcherSafra Catz – Oracle executive vice chair and ex-CEOMichael Dell – Dell founder, chairman, and CEOJacob DeWitte – Oklo co-founder and CEOFred Ehrsam – Coinbase co-founder, Nudge co-founder and CEOLarry Ellison – Oracle CEODavid Friedberg – The Production Board and Ohalo Genetics CEO, All-In podcast hostJensen Huang – Nvidia CEOJohn Martinis – Professor of physics, University of CaliforniaBob Mumgaard – Commonwealth Fusion Systems CEOLisa Su – AMD CEOMark Zuckerberg – Meta CEO
(Image credit: Getty Images)
In the president’s executive order, he explains the need for this council:
“Today, a new frontier of scientific discovery lies before us, defined by transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and advanced biotechnology.”
“As our global competitors race to exploit these technologies, it is a national security imperative for the United States to achieve and maintain unquestioned and unchallenged global technological dominance. To secure our future, we must harness the full power of American innovation by empowering entrepreneurs, unleashing private-sector creativity, and reinvigorating our research institutions.”
“This order establishes the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology to unite the brightest minds from academia, industry, and government to guide our Nation through this critical moment by charting a path forward for American leadership in science and technology.”
The council can have a maximum of 24 members, and this will include the already-existing Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (APST) Michael Kratsios, and the Special Advisor for AI & Crypto David Sacks.
“The remaining members”, the executive order says, “shall be distinguished individuals and representatives from sectors outside of the Federal Government appointed by the President.”
While nominally and primarily created to advise on on science, technology, education, and innovation policy, it seems the PCAST will also advise on other areas: “The Council shall also provide the President with scientific and technical information that is needed to inform public policy relating to the American economy, the American worker, national and homeland security, and other topics.”
(Image credit: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Members of the PCAST will also be able to ask heads of other agencies and departments for “information concerning scientific and technological matters” when required.
Looking at discussions online, there’s obvious concern over the lack of academics, scientists, researchers, and professors. The CEO-heavy list is defended by others on the grounds that CEOs of science and technology-related businesses should be better placed than the researchers they employ to cut through to what’s most important for policy decisions.
I’ll leave all that discussion to the bigwigs. From my perspective, all I can say is it’s not that surprising to see such a member list. The inclusion of Jensen Huang almost went without saying, given he’s probably the world’s biggest hotshot in this new AI era.
And who knows? Maybe the Nvidia CEO remembers his roots and whispers something for us PC gamers in the president’s ear. Wishful thinking, I know.
