On an Amtrak train, ready to go All-In on the AI 'race'
Headed to DC to hear about Trump's AI Action Plan -- at an All-In podcast/Hill & Valley summit that is all in on AI acceleration
Pardon my typing, my laptop is jumping around thanks to the bumpy Acela ride on Amtrak’s sad Northeast Corridor line between NY and DC.
I was up early this morning to get my butt down to Washington, DC. Was I going to turn down an invite to today’s “Winning the AI Race,” a summit hosted by the Hill & Valley consortium and the All-In podcast guys, featuring a keynote address by President Trump where he will announce his new AI Action Plan?
Certainly not. This is my chance to see senior Trump admin officials, tech founders (and bros) and other industry folks in the wilds of our nation’s capital.
According to Wikipedia, Hill & Valley is “a consortium of American lawmakers and venture capitalists first convened in March 2023 to combat China's influence on the US technology industry,” co-founded by United States–China Economic and Security Review Commission member Jacob Helberg alongside venture capitalists Christian Garrett and Delian Asparahouv. And according to the Hill & Valley PR folks, the program will be focused on “expanding the American economy and job creation through AI development, infrastructure investment, and re-industrialization in the United States.” It will “highlight the opportunity for AI to reshape American industry, the global economy, and the important role the government will play in supporting the transition to an AI economy.”
Really, however, I know this is going to be a great view of AI “accelerationism” — the pro-tech, pro-AI go-go-go subculture that is now front and center in the new Trump administration. AI acceleration is all about pushing for rapid innovation, deregulation, and technological dominance, which we will see in full flower in the new AI Action Plan, which is fully shaped by his Silicon Valley supporters (including a16z’s Marc Andreessen, an O.G. accelerationist). It’s a big pivot from the main thrust of the AI agenda during the Biden administration, which was far more focused on safety, fairness and accountability — particularly through Biden’s AI Executive Order from November 2023.
The major AI accelerationists in the new admin include David O. Sacks, who was appointed in December 2024 as the White House AI and crypto “czar” and chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (he is also one of the “besties” on the All-In podcast); Sriram Krishnan, Senior White House Policy Advisor on AI since January 2025; and Michael Kratsios, who was confirmed in March 2025 as OSTP Director and Presidential Science Adviser and previously served as U.S. CTO under Trump.
As the Washington Post reported this morning:
“Silicon Valley’s risky bet on President Donald Trump is starting to pay dividends.
The White House on Wednesday plans to reveal how it will position the United States to lead a global race to develop artificial intelligence and unveil three executive orders intended to boost the American tech sector, according to two people familiar with the rollout who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans that have not been made public.
Together, the actions will facilitate exports of U.S. technologies and boost the build-out of data centers — advancing the agenda of executives and investors seeking to cash in on an AI gold rush.”
Needless to say, I will report back on this power-flex gathering of techno-optimists — it had better be worth this bumpy Amtrak ride, lol.