The Trump administration will huddle with top tech companies to discuss drones, the Internet of Things and the future of the U.S. workforce at a series of meetings scheduled throughout the month of June, according to four sources familiar with the White House’s plans.
Trump will huddle with business leaders on workforce and tech issues throughout June
Get ready for a full month of tech policy talk at the White House.
Many of those efforts fall under the banner of “tech week,” as the sources described it to Recode, a five-day focus on the policy issues facing Silicon Valley that comes at a time of renewed tension between President Donald Trump and the tech industry’s top executives over issues like climate change.
The main-stage event is the inaugural, June 19 meeting of Trump’s new American Technology Council, first reported by Recode last month. That will see the chief executives of Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Intel, Oracle and others come to Washington, D.C., to discuss ways to modernize government and the services it offers its citizens — and tackle policy challenges like high-skilled immigration.
Joining executives at that meeting will be Peter Thiel, one of Trump’s earliest supporters in the tech industry and an aide to his presidential transition team, the sources said. Other previously unreported corporate invitees include the leaders of Adobe, Akamai and Qualcomm, one source confirmed.
Days later, the White House will summon another collection of tech experts for a second round of conversations: A June 22 gathering devoted to drones, driverless cars and the 5G wireless technologies that enable the “Internet of Things,” the four sources confirmed. They’ll also explore investments in such emerging sectors.
That second meeting is being organized by the White House’s leading research arm, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which still has no permanent director. Instead, the meeting is being convened by Michael Kratsios, the country’s deputy chief technology officer who has ties to Thiel. It does not yet have a formal, final agenda, but invites have gone to about 30 companies, including Amazon, Google and Intel, according to sources familiar with the Trump administration’s thinking.
Spokespeople for the American Technology Council and OSTP declined to comment for this story. BuzzFeed first reported some initial details of the meeting.
The White House’s early plans for “tech week” are part of a series of policy-themed efforts scheduled throughout the month of June. The beginning of the month saw days of events devoted to improving U.S. infrastructure, including a plan to privatize air-traffic control.
Despite a prior pledge to improve U.S. broadband, however, the president did not announce any new efforts last week that seek to improve the internet access around the country. And the proposals Trump did unveil had been greatly overshadowed by former FBI Director James Comey, who appeared on Capitol Hill to answer questions about the Trump administration’s potential ties to Russia.
Next week, meanwhile, the Trump administration is expected to pivot to workforce issues, three sources said. Businesses from multiple industries, including potentially tech, are slated to meet with top Trump administration officials to collaborate on ways to improve higher education and train workers for new and emerging career fields. That meeting is expected to be held June 14.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
See More:
