PCAST relaunched for AI policy
The US relaunched its Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) this week, convening major tech leaders to help shape AI infrastructure, regulation, and competition policy. The panel signals that regulatory awareness will continue to matter for engineers building user‑facing AI systems. (kad8.com)
The White House published the first list of 13 PCAST appointees on March 25, 2026 and said the council may be expanded to as many as 24 members under the executive order that reestablished the body. (whitehouse.gov) David Sacks and Michael Kratsios were named co‑chairs, with Sacks serving in the White House as AI and crypto czar and Kratsios identified as the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. (fedscoop.com) The announced roster includes Marc Andreessen, Sergey Brin, Safra Catz, Michael Dell, Jacob DeWitte, Fred Ehrsam, Larry Ellison, David Friedberg, Jensen Huang, John Martinis, Bob Mumgaard, Lisa Su, and Mark Zuckerberg. (whitehouse.gov) Several appointees represent chipmakers and hardware firms—NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang, AMD’s Lisa Su, Oracle’s Safra Catz, and Dell’s Michael Dell—while venture and crypto figures include Marc Andreessen and Coinbase cofounder Fred Ehrsam. (nextgov.com) The White House and press materials say PCAST will advise on federal R&D priorities, semiconductor manufacturing policy, export controls on advanced chips, workforce development, and other national security technology issues. (nextgov.com) Observers and science groups flagged the panel’s heavy industry composition and noted the absence of Elon Musk and Sam Altman from the initial list as shaping perceptions about conflicts of interest and the council’s industry tilt. (politico.com)
