President Donald Trump’ s decision to appoint Mark Zuckerberg, Jensen Huang and Larry Ellison to the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) signals that the administration is abandoning its role as a strict arbiter in favour of a business partner, with Washington officially recognising AI as the most important battleground in the strategic rivalry with China.
The composition of the council resembles the guest list of the world’s most exclusive technology conference. In addition to the leaders of Meta, Nvidia and Oracle, the group included Sergey Brin of Alphabet and Lisa Su of AMD. The presence of these names at one table with David Sacks, acting ‘czar’ for AI and crypto, suggests a new era of pragmatism. Instead of building regulatory barriers, the White House wants to dismantle them, something Trump signalled in his first days in office by commissioning a plan to accelerate innovation.
The selection of Bob Mumgaard of Commonwealth Fusion Systems to join this group further indicates that the administration recognises the inextricable link between the development of artificial intelligence and the need for the gigantic clean energy resources required to power the data centres of the future.
This partnership, however, raises important questions about transparency and the influence of large corporations on government policy. While Zuckerberg and Huang publicly declare their desire to empower the US, others, such as Oracle and Alphabet, remain reserved for the time being. Nevertheless, the council’s appointment ends a period of uncertainty about the direction US tech legislation will take.
The direction is clear: deregulation, market dominance and a close symbiosis between Silicon Valley and Pennsylvania Avenue. In the race for supremacy in the field of AI, the United States has just set its sights on its strongest players, hoping that their private interest will turn out to be the same as the national interest.
