POLITICO Tech

The POLITICO Tech podcast is your daily download on the disruption that technology is bringing to politics and policy. From AI and the metaverse to disinformation and microchips, we explore how today’s technology is shaping our world — and driving the policy decisions, global rivalries and industries that will matter tomorrow.

Tech News
Politics
Daily News
226
Rise of the AI psychbots
What if generative AI could let you chat with doppelgangers of brilliant people, in their words, at any time? POLITICO’s Mohar Chatterjee digs into unnerving experiments from Beijing to Venice Beach to create AI-generated replicas of living human psychologists. Her story shows a policy vacuum around digital consent - and possibly, a new way for experts to imagine influence and legacy in the age of AI.
16 min
227
Why millions may soon lose their affordable int...
There are 22 million households enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program, each receiving a subsidy from the federal government for their monthly internet bill. But unless Congress acts, the program will soon run out of money. On POLITICO Tech, reporter John Hendel tells host Steven Overly why partisan politics could effectively kill the program, and what that would mean for closing the digital divide.
22 min
228
What to expect on tech from Washington in 2024
Little federal policymaking is likely to get done in an election year. But that doesn’t mean tech policy will be totally dead in Washington. On POLITICO Tech, Darrell West from the Brookings Institution explains what Congress could actually get done if lawmakers set aside their differences -- again, in an election year.
16 min
229
Forecast 2024: States will drive the tech agenda
States passed dozens of new tech laws last year on issues like AI, data privacy and kids’ online safety. Congress… talked about a lot of laws. The University of North Carolina’s Matt Perault expects that dynamic to continue in 2024. On POLITICO Tech, Perault shares predictions for state-level tech policy in the year to come with host Steven Overly.
20 min
230
Rebroadcast: IBM’s CEO on AI layoffs, lawsuits ...
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna is both making artificial intelligence and grappling with its effects. In this rebroadcast, Krishna tells host Steven Overly why AI makes must be held accountable and why he’s not exactly worried about AI displacing a bunch of human workers. Politico Tech will be taking a break for the rest of the year and will be back in your feeds on January 2nd, 2024.
23 min
231
Rebroadcast: Sen. Mark Warner’s big AI idea is ...
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) has been through his share of tech battles on Capitol Hill — and seen lawmakers fail to implement legislation time and again. Warner outlined his ideas for where Congress should start with AI regulation — ideas that will be worth watching for in the new year.
26 min
232
150 ways House lawmakers want to take on China
House lawmakers have laid out a lengthy plan for confronting Beijing’s rising tech ambitions. The recommendations come from a bipartisan committee that has spending much of the past year examining fractures in the U.S.-China relationship, and weighing how the U.S. should prepare for a potential future conflict. On POLITICO Tech, the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), tells host Steven Overly what Congress should do next.
18 min
233
The case for a new tech cop
The U.S. Congress is still figuring out how to rein in Big Tech companies. Mark MacCarthy from the Brookings Institution and Georgetown University has a bold idea: create an entirely new tech regulator. It’s a tall ask considering Congress hasn’t passed major tech legislation to date, but on POLITICO Tech, MacCarthy tells host Steven Overly why he thinks it’s necessary.
20 min
234
Flying cars, political brawls and poking fun at...
Bradley Tusk is a man with many hats: political consultant, venture capitalist, author. His new book, “Obvious in Hindsight,” is a satire about politics and tech, but it's not hard to see the fact through the fiction. On POLITICO Tech, Tusk tells host Steven Overly more about the book, and weighs in on tech fights happening both on and off the page.
20 min
235
Meet Biden’s carbon capture salesman
Brad Crabtree is the assistant secretary for fossil energy and carbon management at the Energy Department -- a position that puts him at the center of the U.S. efforts to promote carbon capture technology. On POLITICO Tech, Crabtree explains the administration’s case for capturing more carbon, despite criticisms from climate activists that it favors the fossil fuel industry.
19 min
236
Why the world is split over carbon capture tech...
The push for technologies that remove carbon from the atmosphere – carbon capture – has been driving a new wedge in the climate fight. And those tensions were on display at COP28 over the past two weeks. On POLITICO Tech, POLITICO energy reporter Zack Colman joins from Dubai to discuss how the geopolitics of climate tech are playing out.
14 min
237
Inside the EU’s tense AI negotiations
The European Union reached a political agreement to regulate artificial intelligence -- a comprehensive law that will set a new global standard. EU parliamentarian Dragos Tudorache returns to POLITICO Tech to take host Steven Overly inside the tense negotiations and explain what the EU AI Act will actually change.
23 min
238
'Humans are not some peak of cognitive ability'...
Malo Bourgon doesn’t know exactly what existential threats AI poses, but he says we should be preparing for them anyway. Bourgon is the CEO of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and among those who fear AI could go deeply awry if it falls into the wrong hands. On today’s show, Bourgon tells host Steven Overly what tech restrictions he wants to see in place.
18 min
239
Fear not Spot the robot
Spot the robot dog has drawn public backlash for its use by law enforcement. But Robert Playter, the CEO of Spot’s creator, Boston Dynamics, says notions of robots taking over the world are fantasies fueled by fear. On POLITICO Tech, he tells host Steven Overly what the robot future will really look like.
21 min
240
Afraid of AI ‘doomsday’? Why today might be the...
The doomsday scenarios about AI run amok garner a lot of attention, but would policymakers be better off focusing on its problems here and now? That’s the case Janet Haven, executive director at Data & Society, makes on today’s POLITICO Tech with host Steven Overly.
19 min
241
A big AI battle is coming soon in California
There's an AI firestorm coming next year — and it won’t be in Washington. Look instead to Sacramento. On POLITICO Tech, California politics reporter Jeremy White tells host Steven Overly about the wave of AI legislation coming to the Golden State.
16 min
242
What the public really thinks about AI
Plenty of people have opinions on artificial intelligence -- especially its potential risks and what to do about them. Daniel Colson’s AI Policy Institute has set out to measure those public attitudes through polls. On POLITICO Tech, Colson tells host Steven Overly that there’s bipartisan fear about AI’s destructive potential and argues those results ought to spur regulators into action.
21 min
243
Why lawmakers fear Biden is giving China a tech...
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have criticized the Biden administration’s digital trade agenda, going so far as to say recent policy decisions are giving China a leg up in the global tech race. On POLITICO Tech, Reps. Darin Lahood (R-Ill.) and Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) argue U.S. trade officials must change course in a conversation with host Steven Overly.
19 min
244
Promise vs. propaganda: Can tech fix the climat...
The big U.N. Climate Change Conference -- COP28 -- is underway in Dubai and the role of emerging technologies in the fight against global warming is likely to be a recurring theme. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly asks Marcene Mitchell of the World Wildlife Fund to expound on the promise and the hype behind these technologies.
17 min
245
Period trackers are more popular than ever. Is ...
Abortion access has changed dramatically since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. And the landscape for data privacy protections is changing, too. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly examines the current state of privacy concerns over period-tracking apps and other health data with POLITICO reporter Ruth Reader.
15 min
246
How China is beating the U.S. at AI
The conventional wisdom is that the U.S. and China are battling it out for AI dominance, and that the US has an upper hand when it comes to developing the technology. On POLITICO Tech, Bill Drexel and Hannah Kelley from the Center for a New American Security tell host Steven Overly that China is ahead in one key area: exporting AI around the world.
19 min
247
What the FEC can (and can't) do about deepfakes
The Federal Election Commission is often politically gridlocked. Now, there’s growing pressure on the agency to consider rules for political ads that contain AI-generated deepfakes. On POLITICO Tech, Democratic FEC Chair Dara Lindenbaum tells host Steven Overly why those calls for action face a bigger obstacle than partisanship.
18 min
248
Is the OpenAI saga a wakeup call for AI safety?
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was abruptly ousted by the company’s board — until he was brought back days later. The Silicon Valley melodrama revealed tensions over how to manage the future of AI. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly discusses the fallout with Dewey Murdick, executive director at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
20 min
249
Why fighting deepfakes in the 2024 election is…...
AI-generated deepfakes are expected to disrupt the 2024 election cycle. But Matt Perault and Scott Babwah Brennen at the University of North Carolina’s Center on Technology Policy say some fears are overblown. On POLITICO Tech, they talk with host Steven Overly about the potential problems with and policy fixes for political deepfakes.
25 min
250
Rebroadcast: Rep. Ted Lieu on what he wants to ...
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Ca) is one of the few members of Congress with a background in computer science. But in this rebroadcast from September, he tells Steven Overly why he believes lawmakers don’t need tech expertise to regulate AI.
20 min