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Council for Science and Technology (CST) and US President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) joint meeting summary, March 2024

Published 31 May 2024

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1. Meeting summary

  1. PCAST co-chair, Arati Prabhakar, welcomed CST members and noted for the public record that this meeting follows a commitment in the 2021 U.S.-UK Joint Leaders statement calling for closer collaboration between PCAST and CST. She noted that the discussions will focus on the opportunities for the U.S. and UK to combine expertise on addressing global challenges and on emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).

  2. CST co-chairs, John Browne and Angela McLean, thanked PCAST for hosting in Washington D.C. and members of both Councils for their work to develop the topics for discussion in advance of the meeting.

  3. Members heard from four guest speakers on the interconnected nature of global challenges including climate change, pandemic preparedness, and antimicrobial resistance. Members discussed the role of global institutions in responding to global challenges; the importance of public engagement, including communicating risk and uncertainty; the role of AI in improving the monitoring and response to risks; and climate finance models.

  4. Angela McLean agreed that the UK Government Office for Science will produce a social and behavioural science playbook for emergencies. This will be a practical tool containing actionable guidance to support policymakers during emergencies.

  5. Both Councils discussed respective AI priorities, including the US AI Executive Order and outcomes of the AI Safety Summit. Members also discussed the energy efficiency of compute for AI; challenges and opportunities of national and international data sharing; managing public data assets; and priority applications of AI.

  6. During the meeting CST and PCAST published a joint statement addressed to Prime Minister Sunak and President Joe Biden. The statement outlines shared views on priority issues for science and technology, and areas for future collaboration between the Councils and the UK and U.S.  A full record of the minutes is available here.

2. Attendees

CST members:

  • Angela McLean (Chair)
  • John Browne (Chair)
  • Brooke Rogers
  • Muffy Calder
  • Jim Hall
  • Julia Black
  • Suranga Chandratillake
  • Saul Klein
  • Paul Stein
  • Ottoline Leyser
  • Paul Newman (virtual)
  • Max Lu (virtual)
  • Keith Ridgway (virtual)

PCAST members:

  • Frances Arnold (Chair)
  • Arati Prabhakar (Chair)
  • Maria Zuber (Chair)
  • Steve Pacala
  • Vicki Sato
  • Dan E. Arvizu
  • Dennis Assanis
  • Frances Colon
  • Lisa Cooper
  • John Dabiri
  • William Dally
  • Inez Fung
  • Andrea Goldsmith
  • Laura H. Greene
  • Paula Hammond
  • Eric Horvitz
  • Jonathan Levin
  • Saul Perlmutter
  • William Press
  • Jennifer Richeson
  • Lisa T. Su
  • Kathryn Sullivan
  • Terence Tao
  • Phil Venables
  • Joe Kiani (virtual)
  • Sue Desmond-Hellmann (virtual)

Guest speakers:

  • Professor Derek Cummings, Professor, Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida 
  • Professor Judith Green, Professor of Sociology, Director of the Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health, University of Exeter 
  • Dr. Sarah Kapnick, Chief Scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
  • Professor Nicholas Pidgeon, Professor of Environmental Psychology and Director of the Understanding Risk Research Group, Cardiff University
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