Trump names tech billionaires Zuckerberg and Huang to science council focused on AI dominance

Reviewed byNidhi Govil

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President Donald Trump unveiled a 13-member science advisory panel dominated by tech industry leaders including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, and Oracle's Larry Ellison. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology marks a sharp departure from previous administrations, featuring only one academic scientist while prioritizing artificial intelligence and quantum computing expertise from Silicon Valley's most powerful executives.

Donald Trump Appoints Prominent Tech Leaders to Revamped Science Panel

President Donald Trump announced the first 13 members of his President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology on Wednesday, assembling a roster heavily weighted toward tech industry leaders and artificial intelligence expertise

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. The lineup includes some of the world's wealthiest executives: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, AMD CEO Lisa Su, and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell

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. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and Oracle's Safra Catz round out the initial appointments, with the council potentially expanding to 24 members in the near future

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Source: New York Post

Source: New York Post

The tech council will be co-chaired by David Sacks, Trump's AI and crypto czar, alongside White House Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios

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. According to the White House, PCAST will "advise the President on matters involving science, technology, education, and innovation policy" while providing guidance on issues affecting national security, the American workforce, and economic growth

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Sharp Departure From Academic Tradition Raises Concerns

This iteration of PCAST represents a dramatic shift from previous administrations. Only one current academic—John Martinis of the University of California, Santa Barbara, who shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for work fundamental to quantum computing—appears on the roster

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. In contrast, two-thirds of the 30 PCAST members under former President Joe Biden were members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and 14 were women. Trump's panel includes just two women: Lisa Su and Safra Catz

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Science policy experts have expressed concern about the composition. "The unfortunate part of these choices is that it leaves out the 'S' in 'S&T' [science and technology]," one higher education lobbyist noted

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. John Holdren, Obama's science adviser and former PCAST co-chair, acknowledged the members are "very accomplished people—strong on information technology innovation and advanced nuclear energy technology—but the coverage of the group is far from the balance across science and technology that has characterized the most effective PCASTs in the past"

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Focus on U.S. Leadership in AI and Emerging Technologies

Trump has made securing U.S. leadership in AI a central priority of his second term, framing the technology as a defining arena of strategic competition with China

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. Within days of taking office in January last year, he directed federal agencies to prepare an AI Action Plan aimed at reducing regulatory barriers and accelerating private-sector innovation

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. Last week, he unveiled a national blueprint for regulating AI that calls for online safeguards for children, less stringent permitting requirements to reduce costs for power-hungry data centers, and preventing censorship

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Source: Market Screener

Source: Market Screener

The council will play a key role in shaping Washington's response to intensifying global competition in artificial intelligence

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. Trump has secured billions in commitments from tech leaders to build out AI infrastructure and has committed to policies aimed at unleashing domestic energy production to fuel data centers

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. The administration frames its approach as enabling a "Golden Age of Innovation," with PCAST expected to focus on "the opportunities and challenges that emerging technologies present to the American workforce"

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Silicon Valley's Deepening Ties With Trump Administration

The appointments signal closer alignment between the administration and major technology companies

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. Many executives who kept their distance during Trump's first term have since aligned themselves more closely with his economic and technology initiatives

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. Both Mark Zuckerberg and Sergey Brin attended Trump's 2025 inauguration

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. Meta has previously donated to Trump, while Larry Ellison's Oracle served as the backbone of Trump's deal to divest TikTok earlier this year

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Source: TechSpot

Source: TechSpot

Jensen Huang's presence underscores the importance of AI infrastructure in the administration's technology agenda, given Nvidia's dominance in AI chipmaking

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. The panel will weigh in on AI policy at a time when artificial intelligence has emerged as a major driver of U.S. investment, with companies pledging trillions of dollars in spending over the coming years

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However, the AI drive has emerged as a politically contentious issue ahead of November midterm elections, as voters bristle over rapid development of data centers in their communities, energy use driving up utility costs, potential job losses from the technology, and worries about environmental harm

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. Deborah Stine, who staffed PCAST under President Barack Obama, notes that "PCASTs typically reflect the priorities of the president who appoints them," adding that "the open question is whether this group will elevate not only industry perspectives, but also the role of sustained federal investment in fundamental research that enabled these technologies in the first place"

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