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
176
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
177
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
178
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
179
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
180
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
181
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
182
'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
183
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
184
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
185
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
186
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
187
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
188
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
189
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
190
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
191
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
192
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
193
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
194
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
195
Rebroadcast: This tech exec has a plan to rein ...
Former President Barack Obama recently published a short list of articles, podcasts and books that have shaped his views on AI. And among them is a book that was published in September called, “The Coming Wave,” written by Mustafa Suleyman, the co-founder of Google DeepMind and current CEO of Inflection AI. In this rebroadcast from September, Steven Overly talks with Mustafa Suleyman, the chief executive of Inflection AI and a co-founder of Google DeepMind, who argues there are 10 steps that governments and companies should take to mitigate the most destructive threats posed by artificial intelligence.
18 min
196
Rebroadcast: Justine Bateman says the AI apocal...
The writers and actor's strikes may be over, but many of the issues at the center of the strike — including AI — remain ongoing. In this rebroadcast from August, Steven Overly talks with filmmaker Justine Bateman, who predicts expects artificial intelligence will be the harbinger of the end of movies and television as we know it.
19 min
197
One public affairs firm rides the AI ‘roller co...
Artificial intelligence is already reshaping the world’s power centers, from how governments operate to how industry and advocates wield influence. On POLITICO Tech, Penta Group partner Andrea Christianson tells host Steven Overly why the public affairs firm is fully embracing generative AI — and what restrictions it’s had to put in place. Steven Overly is the host of the POLITICO Tech podcast. Nirmal Mulaikal is a POLITICO audio host-producer. Kara Tabor is an audio producer for POLITICO.
16 min
198
K Street is taking AI lobbying to the bank
Lobbying on AI is booming on K Street, with influencers around Washington selling themselves as AI experts who can help companies navigate how Congress and the Biden administration will tackle the hot topic in town. Hailey Fuchs talks with host Steven Overly.
12 min
199
Inside Michelle Donelan’s British tech invasion
U.K. tech secretary Michelle Donelan makes a return visit to POLITICO Tech, this time during a U.S. visit that includes stops in Washington, Seattle and San Francisco. She tells host Steven Overly how the U.S. and U.K. will join forces to combat the risks of artificial intelligence, and offers advice for U.S. policymakers on both AI and online safety.
18 min
200
The tech issues that matter as Biden, Xi prepar...
President Biden is slated to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday in San Francisco. It’s their first face-to-face meeting in a year, and comes amid ever-escalating tensions over tech issues like AI and microchips. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly asks Xiaomeng Lu of the Eurasia Group to outline expectations for the meeting -- and whether major resolutions are likely.
18 min