A Michigan company called Hemlock Semiconductor got the red carpet treatment from President Joe Biden back in 2022. As Biden stood outside the White House, he pledged the CHIPS and Science Act would support Hemlock and other suppliers. But things haven’t fully panned out that way for Hemlock. Other companies similarly argue that Biden’s landmark CHIPS and Science Act should provide more money for microchip suppliers -- otherwise, it risks falling short on his national security goals, ultimately complicating his re-election effort. Host Steven Overly talks with reporter Christine Mui about the tensions over chips money.

John Matze is the former CEO of Parler. You might recall, that’s the social media app that became a favorite for far-right personalities spreading conspiracies during the 2020 election. And he was fired in the wake of the Jan. 6th insurrection, an attack he said at the time was not Parler’s fault. Now, John is trying for a second act with a new app that’s part social media, part news aggregator. On POLITICO Tech, John tells host Steven Overly what he learned from his handling of the last election and how exactly he plans to do things differently this time.

Tech companies worldwide have laid off nearly 35,000 workers so far this year, adding to the worst stretch of job cuts the industry has seen in decades. In the U.S., cities dependent on the tech sector like Seattle and San Francisco are among the hardest hit. On POLITICO Tech, University of Washington professor Jeff Shulman joins host Steven Overly to explore the economic and political impact of tech’s big layoffs.

President Joe Biden officially joined TikTok this week -- a surprise that may have delighted no one more than TikTok itself. The video sharing app has been sharply criticized in Washington over supposed ties to China, and the Biden campaign’s decision to sign up marks a political win. But how should Biden actually use the platform? On POLITICO Tech, reporters Hailey Fuchs and Rachel Janfaza help us take a scroll through Biden’s TikTok.

The U.K.’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Bim Afolami, is making a swing through the U.S. and Canada this week, pitching his home country as a hub for crypto and fintech. Afolami sat down with POLITICO Tech ahead of meetings in Washington to discuss transatlantic crypto regulation, and told host Steven Overly that he doesn’t expect the U.K. and U.S. to see eye-to-eye on rules. In fact, he expects to compete over them.

A series of recent headlines about politicians using AI-generated deepfakes of themselves got us thinking the gray areas in how artificial intelligence can be used on the campaign trail. In Indonesia, the front runner for president is a military general using an AI-generated cartoon as his campaign image. And in Pakistan, the former prime minister used an AI-generated video to declare victory — from prison. On the show today, Katie Harbath, who spent a decade on Facebook’s public policy team managing elections and is now the chief global affairs officer at Duco Experts, talks with Steven Overly about the rise in candidates deep faking themselves.

Artificial intelligence alone cannot be considered as an inventor, but the humans who use it can be. That’s according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office guidelines put out this morning. On POLITICO Tech, the agency’s director, Kathi Vidal, joins host Steven Overly to discuss the new rules and the role for human creation in an AI world.

The Senate’s bipartisan border deal met a rapid demise this week, But tucked inside the proposal was hundreds of millions of dollars for new technology along the U.S. southern border. Border security technology is increasingly sophisticated, and also increasingly contentious. On POLITICO Tech, Theresa Cardinal Brown from the Bipartisan Policy Center delves into the state of border technology and its partisan politics.

Canadian computer scientist Yoshua Bengio has been dubbed one of the “godfathers of AI,” but he’s not exactly thrilled about the title. Bengio devoted most of his professional life to making AI smarter. But now, he wants to prevent AI from destroying humanity. On POLITICO Tech, Bengio tells host Steven Overly about his professional pivot and what policy changes he’s pushing for around the world.

More newsrooms are embracing generative artificial intelligence, even as it raises troubling questions about journalism’s future. On POLITICO Tech, the Knight Foundation’s Marc Lavallee tells host Steven Overly how bots are likely disrupt the news business and what that means for news consumers like you.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency became a conservative target in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. Now, those same politician tensions are causing some private sector experts to retreat from a key program meant to defend U.S. infrastructure against hackers. On POLITICO Tech, reporter John Sakellariadis delves into the partisan politics that is undermining U.S. cybersecurity.

There’s a new front in the fight against online child sexual abuse: AI-generated child porn. Emily Slifer is the policy director at Thorn, a nonprofit that develops technology to detect and remove such content. And she warns policymakers and tech companies must act now before the problem explodes. On POLITICO Tech, Slifer and host Steven Overly discuss who shoulders the burden, and the blame, for combating AI-generated child porn.

For decades, U.S. agriculture industries have advertised products through quasi-government programs. (Think “Got Milk?” and “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner.”) Now, those marketing campaigns are getting a revamp for the social media era -- and that’s causing tension among American farmers and advocates. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Marcia Brown breaks down an atypical tech story about the controversial rise of the new food influencer.

Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s top tech regulator, is busier than ever — contending with antitrust cases, internet regulations and, soon, artificial intelligence rules. And yet, her tenure is almost up. Unless she’s chosen for a third term, Vestager will leave the European Commission later this year just as its most consequential tech laws are getting started. On POLITICO Tech, Vestager delves into the EU’s AI ambitions, her Silicon Valley crackdown and her hopes to stay around longer.

The CEOs of five major social media platforms are being hauled up to Capitol Hill today, including Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and X's Linda Yaccarino. They'll face a grilling from the Senate Judiciary Committee over their handling of child pornography and other harmful content on their platforms. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Rebecca Kern breaks down what to expect from the hearing — and which lawmakers will be looking to seize a moment.

Former Republican Congressman Will Hurd spent two years on the board of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and is out in a new Op-Ed in Politico magazine warning that AI is too powerful to be left in the hands of a few Silicon Valley players. On POLITICO Tech, Hurd tells host Steven Overly what can be done.

Key government programs that subsidize internet access for low-income and rural communities are in jeopardy. And Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), who chairs the Senate’s broadband subcommittee, has been entrenched in the Capitol Hill debate to save them. On POLITICO Tech, Luján tells host Steven Overly what to expect from the bipartisan working group pursuing a solution and why the next several weeks will be crucial.

A robocall mimicking the voice of President Joe Biden earlier this week is the latest instance of AI-generated deepfakes invading the campaign trail. But Pindrop CEO Vijay Balasubramaniyan warns these audio dupes could soon erode trust in just about every facet of our lives. On POLITICO Tech, Balasubramaniyan argues voice analysis technology can spot the fakes and makes the case for policymakers to act now.

One of the biggest tech companies at the center of the microchip war between the U.S. and China is actually Dutch. ASML manufactures equipment used by the world’s biggest semiconductor companies, making it the target of U.S. export controls aimed at curtailing Beijing’s tech ambitions. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Pieter Haeck joins host Steven Overly to detail ASML’s geopolitical predicament and the CEO’s message during a recent interview.

At a time when global institutions are under strain, United Nations tech envoy Amandeep Gill says AI has the potential to be an “area of collaboration.” But making sure some nations aren’t left behind will require a new set of incentives for wealthy countries and tech companies. On POLITICO Tech, Gill delves into some of the existential threats around AI and what can be done about them.

Arizona State is the first university to ink a partnership with OpenAI, bringing a business-grade version of ChatGPT into classrooms and research labs. It marks a major embrace of artificial intelligence at a time when many universities are trepidatious about what it means for the future of learning. On POLITICO Tech, ASU’s enterprise chief information officer, Lev Gonick, tells host Steven Overly why AI will be transformational.

The Biden administration created a court to hear complaints from European citizens who accuse the U.S. government of unfairly spying on them. It was part of a deal with the European Union that allows companies to freely move customer data across the Atlantic. But privacy advocates are planning to sue -- saying the court is too opaque and fails to uphold EU privacy rights. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Alfred Ng takes us inside Biden’s secret surveillance court.

The World Economic Forum has been happening in Davos Switzerland this week – a gathering of the world’s muckety mucks, world leaders and billionaires. The setting is posh, the ski slopes are freshly powdered and the champagne is (presumably) ice cold. New this year? The streets are lined with AI. Stuart Russell, a leading academic in the field of artificial intelligence and at Davos this week, talks with host Steven Overly.

Helen Dixon is Europe’s most powerful privacy regulator. As the head of Ireland’s data privacy watchdog, she has overseen the largest investigations to date into tech companies for violations of the EU’s landmark General Data Protection Regulation. But next month, she is leaving the role after nearly a decade. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Clothilde Goujard talks with Dixon on her way out the door.

The growing number of connected devices, many of them now equipped with AI, is putting new demands on the U.S. supply of spectrum. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is implementing a new strategy to prevent a potential crunch. On POLITICO Tech, Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alan Davidson tells host Steven Overly how NTIA is tackling issues related to spectrum and AI accountability.