Presidential Advisers Push for National Network to Support Quantum and AI Advancement

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, or PCAST reconstituted by executive order in October held its first working meeting Monday, outlining its near-term focus on quantum computing and artificial intelligence as the prime industries of the future.
The body first established by then-President George W. Bush in 2001 and recommissioned by each president since brings together scientific researchers from industry and academia to advise the administration on national priorities. “The PCAST helps the government understand what it can be doing to effectively maintain and ensure American leadership in AI, quantum and so on. But the other thing is how can the government partner with private sector, with nonprofits, with academic institutions?” council Chair Kelvin Droegemeier, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told Nextgov.