Industry sees potential in Trump AI czar pick
David Sacks, CEO of Yammer, speaks during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 15, 2024. Sacks was chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as his AI and crypto czar in the coming administration. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
Following President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of venture capitalist David Sacks to serve as his administration’s AI and Crypto Czar, experts are optimistic about what Sacks’s experience means for U.S. competitiveness.
On Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he has chosen venture capitalist David Sacks to serve as the White House Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Czar — a new position that will operate as a special government employee, per Bloomberg — in his coming administration and will be tasked with focusing on maintaining U.S. leadership in AI innovation.
Announced in two posts on Trump’s Truth Social network, Sacks’s selection follows a deep technology background, including working as PayPal’s chief operating officer and creating software-as-a-service company Yammer, which he ultimately sold to Microsoft for $1.2 billion. He currently works as a founding partner of Craft Ventures.
Trump confirmed through his posts that Sacks’s initial policy focuses will include crafting a legal framework for the cryptocurrency industry and leading the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology — a body of advisors from outside the federal government. He will also address Trump’s key policy priorities related to free speech online and the purported censorship of Big Tech companies.
“David has the knowledge, business experience, intelligence, and pragmatism to MAKE AMERICA GREAT in these two critical technologies,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
On the industry side, experts are reacting warmly to Sacks’s selection. Daniel Castro, the vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and director of ITIF's Center for Data Innovation, said that bringing a Silicon Valley leader to the executive branch will help the U.S. continue to compete at the global tech level.
“It's welcome news that the incoming Trump administration is tapping a Silicon Valley leader to head its AI policy,” Castro said in a statement to Nextgov/FCW. “Maintaining U.S. leadership in AI will be one of the Trump administration's biggest challenges. China is rapidly catching up to the United States and will likely see a surge in innovation in the coming years as a result of continued investment in the technology, data, and skills needed to be a global leader in AI.”
Castro added that Sacks’s appointment will hopefully lead to the quick adoption of AI solutions.
Similarly, Craig Albright, the senior vice president of U.S. Government relations at BSA Software Alliance, told Nextgov/FCW that Sacks’s wherewithal for competitiveness in the tech sector will serve the U.S. on both the innovation and adoption fronts.
“David Sacks is someone who understands the potential for AI, and the business and policy environment needed to unleash innovation,” Albright said. “He will have an eye toward competitiveness and can help spur widespread adoption of technology.”
Sacks’s appointment comes amid uncertainty surrounding the incoming Trump administration’s posture on AI, a policy arena that the outgoing Biden administration spent much time developing and administering.
While Trump made it clear he would repeal Biden’s thorough executive order on AI, which doled out scores of federal mandates surrounding evaluating and adopting AI solutions in the government, Republicans like Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., speculate that the Trump administration will discard some elements and keep others of the EO that coincide with the administration’s priorities.