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In December 2024, President Donald Trump appointed David Sacks as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency czar. In addition, he will lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (PCAST). What has he accomplished?
Trump Creates New AI Orders, Scraps Old Rules
On January 23, President Donald Trump announced an executive order intended to remove barriers to American leadership in AI. In addition, he rescinded an AI executive order that former President Joe Biden imposed on October 31, 2024, which Sacks told Fox News was a hundred pages of “burdensome regulations” the industry hated. “We’re going to replace it with something much better,” he said.
Today President Trump signed Executive Orders to make the U.S. the global leader in both Crypto and AI. I appeared on @FoxBusiness to discuss. pic.twitter.com/TkLDdkhVG5
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) January 24, 2025
On February 6, the National Science Foundation issued a Request for Information (RFI) for an AI action plan, which included a period where interested persons could submit comments on or before March 15.
The Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development National Coordination Office said it sought input “from academia, industry groups, private sector organizations, state, local, and tribal governments, and any other interested parties, on priority actions that should be included in the Plan.”
Responses can address any relevant AI policy topic, such as: AI chips, data centers, energy consumption, AI applications, AI model output explainability, regulation, technical standards, innovation and competition, data privacy, cybersecurity and much more.
As of that deadline, more than 750 comments have been received.
Sacks said on the All-In podcast that he would be one of three people working on the plan, along with Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Sacks added that it would “put a little substance behind what the ‘czar’ role means.”
Related Article: Meet the Startups Taking on Big Tech With Smarter AI Chips
Sacks Sounds the Alarm on DeepSeek
When Chinese AI lab DeepSeek announced its AI model in late January, Sacks told CNBC the US might invoke export controls on chips such as NVIDIA’s to maintain its lead over China. “There’s no reason to give access to China for our leading-edge chips,” he said.
On Fox News, Sacks said DeepSeek had “gotten more juice” out of the chips, which he attributed to US export controls. “They’ve had to learn to be more efficient. There’s substantial evidence that what DeepSeek did here is they distilled the knowledge out of OpenAI’s models,” he said, adding that he expected US AI companies to take steps to prevent such distillation in the future.
🚨NEW: David Sacks, AI and Crypto Czar (@DavidSacks) speaks about DeepSeek and the implications for National Security on FOX News pic.twitter.com/AmtsCP8kA2
— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) January 28, 2025
Sacks also claimed the US needs to make it easier to build big AI data centers. AI companies, he said, were distracted by focusing on DEI and “woke AI,” such as models producing images of Black George Washington. “We can’t afford to be distracted by things that don’t matter.”
“If we want America to be the most powerful country, we have to be the leader in AI,” Sacks added. “It should be unacceptable for any American to live in a world where China could out-compete us in AI.”
In the All-In podcast, Sacks elaborated on his concern that China could take the lead from the US in AI innovation. “It’s going to be a much worse world if they’re six months ahead of us rather than six months behind. If we hobble ourselves with unnecessary regulation, they’re going to take advantage of that fact, and they’re going to win.”
JD Vance Urges Less Regulation, More Innovation
Vice President JD Vance gave a speech on February 11 at the Pari AI Summit. Sacks commented on the speech on Twitter, calling Vance's speech "brilliant and optimistic."
.@VP @JDVance gave a brilliant and optimistic speech at the Paris AI Summit today. He made clear that America will remain the leader in AI, free of excessive regulation, ideological bias and censorship, while also supporting a pro-worker growth path.pic.twitter.com/SxcwYoPwbN
— David Sacks (@davidsacks47) February 11, 2025
“He made clear that America will remain the leader in AI, free of excessive regulation, ideological bias and censorship, while also supporting a pro-worker growth path,” wrote Sacks. He went on to quote four main points from Vance’s speech, including:
- The US administration will ensure American AI technology continues to be the gold standard worldwide
- Excessive regulation of AI could kill the industry just as it's taking off, and the administration plans to encourage pro-growth AI policies
- American AI must be free from ideological bias and will not be a tool for authoritarian censorship
- The Trump administration will maintain a pro-worker growth path for AI to promote job creation in the US
In an All-In podcast episode, Sacks denied being involved in writing the speech. “I’m not going to take any credit whatsoever on this,” he said. He went on to praise Vance for focusing on AI opportunity, as opposed to AI safety and regulation, calling the European Union’s Digital Services Act a “speed trap" for US companies. “AI is a huge opportunity for us, and that point has not been made enough,” said Sacks.
In what was thought to be a response to Vance’s speech, Britain’s AI Safety Institute changed its name to AI Security Institute.
Related Article: AI Risks Grow as Companies Prioritize Speed Over Safety
The Unanswered Questions About David Sacks’s Role
According to news reports, Sacks is not considered a full-time advisor, but a “special government employee,” meaning he can contribute up to 130 days per year. It's not clear whether he’s being paid, how much time he’s contributing, how much of it is focused on AI and crypto, whether he has a staff or an office or how he and his office are being funded.
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As for Sacks' role in the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, that remains unclear. PCAST has 24 unpaid (except for travel reimbursement) members, according to President Trump. It is funded by the Department of Energy and will sunset in two years unless extended. Dr. Lynne Parker has been named executive director, however, no other members have been publicly named, and the council does not appear to have a website. No deadline has been given for when more information will be released, and Sacks did not respond to a request for comment.
