"New York Times": Trump’s technology advisor is exploiting his position for his personal interests

David Sachs, one of the most prominent technology advisors in the administration of US President Donald Trump last July, appeared radiant as he ascended to a podium inside a new classical hall designed just steps from the White House. Sachs had gathered senior government officials and leaders of major technology companies from “Silicon Valley” In a forum to discuss the boom in artificial intelligence.

 

The guest of honor was Trump himself, who revealed an "business plan for artificial intelligence" Sachs participated in drafting it, asserting in a lengthy speech that artificial intelligence represented “one of the most important technological revolutions in the history of the world,” and then signed a series of executive orders to accelerate the growth of the sector.

But behind this remarkable scene, Sachs (53 years old) himself was a major beneficiary of this new direction of the Trump administration, because while he held one of the most influential positions in the White House as an advisor on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, he was also continuing his investment work in Silicon Valley.

According to a report. The New York Times newspaper In America, Sachs granted his allies in the sector unprecedented access to the White House, and he also pushed for removing restrictions on artificial intelligence companies, paving the way for technology giants to reap gains estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars.

The New York Times investigations indicate that Sachs maintains 708 technology investments, including 449 investments related to artificial intelligence that could benefit directly or indirectly from the policies he promoted while working in the White House.

The newspaper highlighted some of the stations that it considered to be the most prominent features of a potential conflict of interest, as Sachs provided political support that would boost the sales of major companies such as “Nvidia,” which is expected to earn up to $200 billion from the decisions that it made. Support.

Sachs’s recommendations on artificial intelligence policies also sometimes clashed with security warnings, which raised concerns among some White House aides, while his private investments continued to grow, especially in artificial intelligence and digital currency companies, despite his assertion that he complied with government ethics regulations.

The Trump administration had granted him two ethical exemptions after he announced the sale of most of his assets in cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence, but the official disclosures did not clarify the timing of the sale or the size of the remaining assets, which sparked further criticism. Doubts about his potential earnings from his government work.

However, the White House spokeswoman defended Sachs, considering his experience “invaluable.” To achieve Trump’s goal of strengthening American technological hegemony, critics in the Trump administration described what was happening as a blatant example of “rapidly rising technology influence within the White House.”

Sachs’s political influence began years ago, thanks to his network of relationships with Elon Musk and other leaders of the American technology sector, and he became an influential figure in the Republican Party, and a major financier for a number of candidates, before Trump officially summoned him to work in his administration.

Sachs opened the doors of the White House to technology leaders, The most prominent of them is Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA. For electronic chips, Sachs worked to cancel export restrictions imposed by the administration of former US President Joe Biden on artificial intelligence chips.

The newspaper documented Sachs’ continued investments in companies that may directly benefit from policies he formulated himself, including defense technology companies such as “Anduril”, which recently received a $159 million contract from the US Army to develop night vision glasses powered by artificial intelligence.

Sachs also helped push to pass a law "Genius" To regulate stable currencies, a law that was celebrated by “BitGo”, one of Sachs’ investments, before announcing its readiness to go public with a value exceeding $130 million.

Sachs’ frequent appearances with senior US administration officials turned into golden propaganda for his famous podcast program “All In”, whose revenues from conferences jumped to about $21 million annually, while Trump himself came to film special scenes with the program’s presenters inside the White House.

It was supposed to The podcast hosted an artificial intelligence summit last July, with sponsors allowed to pay $1 million each to gain exclusive access to Trump, which raised concerns within the White House, prompting his chief of staff Susie Wiles to intervene and stop the matter, but despite the official containment, the summit embodies a prominent example of the extent to which Sachs’s personal interests overlap with his government policies.

At the conclusion of the event, and after Trump signed several executive orders, the US President handed over his presidential pen to David Sachs, in a scene that sums up the size of The influence that the businessman has within the corridors of American power.  

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