An emerging appointee announced by President-elect Donald Trump, naming David Sacks as “White House A.I. and Crypto Czar”, has reignited rivalries inside the technology world, openly troll-tweaked by Elon Musk, such as at Sam Altman. That appointee, who is considered to be a close associate with the multibillionaire Elon Musk, seems to many like he’ll enjoy the power to shape and set an agenda in place for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency issues, at least, under this new administration.
Sacks’ Relation to Musk and Trump
A venture capitalist and a podcaster, David Sacks has had a long professional association with Musk, having worked alongside him in the early days of PayPal, hence establishing a close relationship. In fact, Sacks has since continued investing in Musk’s companies, including SpaceX, Tesla, and X, formerly Twitter, in support of Musk’s most ambitious technological undertakings.
Sacks had also turned into a vocal supporter of Trump in the recent election – hosting fundraisers and pushing the president-elect’s cause on his popular podcast called *All In.* Appointing him is a tribute both to his loyalty to Trump as well as his experience within the tech industry. Musk and Altman Go Their Ways
The rivalry between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took center stage following Trump’s announcement. After Altman publicly congratulated Sacks on X, Musk responded with a sarcastic laughing emoji, adding fuel to their already contentious relationship.
Altman, perhaps the loudest critic of Musk’s increasing political influence, also took to the stage at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit and spoke his views. He warned that Musk could use his access in the corridors of power to “screw” rivals and his own competitors and help his own interests. The remarks mark one of the latest salvoes between the pair of tech moguls that have already sued each other.
Musk is suing OpenAI, claiming it has strayed from its non-profit, open-source roots to prioritize profit. Meanwhile, Altman continues to navigate the challenges posed by Musk’s direct competition through xAI, a rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Sacks’ Role and Objectives
With his appointment as AI and Crypto Czar, Sacks has a number of expectations. In the advisory role, he is supposed to create policies that will encourage innovation but try to plug regulatory lacuna in artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. According to the venture capital firm, Craft Ventures, belonging to Sacks, his new position does not conflict with his existing professional commitments.
In a statement, Trump praised Sacks for his smarts and straight-shooting style, adding that the formation of a distinct legal structure was important, which would finally let the crypto industry flourish in the United States. His recent founding of an AI chat platform, Glue, adds another layer to his portfolio, though he insists his private endeavors will not interfere with his public service role.
