POLITICO Tech

Children’s advocates often compare social media to cigarettes, arguing platforms like YouTube and TikTok are addictive and harmful. That’s led to an increasing number of states passing laws aimed at curtailing their influence on young users. On Thursday, New York became the latest. But signing the law doesn’t actually make it a done deal. POLITICO tech reporter Rebecca Kern joins host Steven Overly to break down the latest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Artificial intelligence consumes a lot of energy. Exactly how much is hard to say, because AI companies keep much of that information hidden – a practice that some policymakers and activists are trying to change. On today's episode of Politico Tech, Steven Overly called up Jesse Dodge to better understand the energy and climate cost behind generative AI. Dodge is a senior research scientist at the Allen Institute for AI in Seattle, who not only develops large language models, he also studies their electricity usage and CO2 emissions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon Musk sparked much debate with a post on X saying the U.S. “should eliminate electronic voting machines.” But is that even possible? Pamela Smith, the president and CEO of election integrity nonprofit Verified Voting, says it isn’t. Technology now permeates our elections far more than people realize, she says — though paper still matters, too. Smith joins POLITICO Tech to explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A small but growing number of tech entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and crypto enthusiasts are throwing their 2024 support behind former President Donald Trump over President Joe Biden. And Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a progressive who represents a swath of Silicon Valley, warns Democrats shouldn’t take the liberal stronghold for granted. On POLITICO Tech, Khanna tells host Steven Overly why the Democratic defectors have him worried and how Biden should borrow from former President Barack Obama’s pro-tech playbook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Ballmer has made his fortune as the former CEO of Microsoft and owner of the LA Clippers. But his nonprofit USAFacts is trying to make government data more consumable, a mission driven by the belief that numbers are the antidote to political disinformation and partisan policymaking. On POLITICO Tech, Ballmer talks with host Steven Overly about his latest effort to convince politicians to follow the facts, as well as artificial intelligence, the election and why he's not donating to campaigns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

POLITICO Tech went to Toronto for the U.S.-Canada Summit, hosted by BMO Financial Group and Eurasia Group. Host Steven Overly moderated a discussion on how the neighbors are competing and cooperating when it comes to artificial intelligence, with Cohere COO Martin Kon, OpenAI vice president of government affairs Anna Makanju, IBM chief privacy and trust officer Christina Montgomery and Radical Ventures co-founder and managing partner Jordan Jacobs. On the show today, key takeaways from that conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Steven Overly is in Canada this week for The US-Canada Summit, hosted by BMO Financial Group and Eurasia Group — and it got him thinking about another Canadian who's been on the podcast before: Canadian computer scientist Yoshua Bengio. Bengio has been dubbed one of the “godfathers of AI,” although he’s not exactly thrilled about the title. Still, 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the EU elections over the weekend, the continent’s politics seems to be shifting. So what does that mean for tech? Host Steven Overly talked with Politico EU tech reporter Clothilde Goujard to break down the results and decode what to watch for next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former President Donald Trump is in his second week on TikTok, and already soaring past President Joe Biden in both followers and views. But that doesn't necessarily mean he's having more influence. Or that other Republicans will rush to join TikTok, a platform many have called a national security threat. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly called up Republican digital strategist Eric Wilson to make sense of it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey says climate tech is all opportunity, no hype. That’s why she wants to pour $1 billion into the sector over the next decade, along with as much federal money as she can get from President Joe Biden’s climate legislation. On POLITICO Tech, Healey joins host Steven Overly after speaking at The ClimaTech Conference this week to defend her bet on climate tech and explain why she fears former President Donald Trump could undermine it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do Scarlett Johansson, Bette Midler and Johnny Carson have in common? All three have been at the center of controversies over the impersonation of famous people — and tested the limits of what U.S. will allow. On POLITICO Tech, George Mason University Law School professor Sandra Aistars breaks down the legal precedent on celebrity impersonation, and what that means in an AI world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Disinformation and conspiracies that run rampant online, and the business models that fund them, have created a world in which people no longer agree on a shared set of facts. That was the impetus behind, “The Death of Truth,” a new book written by NewsGuard co-CEO Steven Brill. On POLITICO Tech, Brill tells host Steven Overly how he thinks the truth can be saved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India’s election finally came to a close last night. But the long campaign brought out some of the most novel and bizarre examples yet of generative artificial intelligence in politics, from personalized robocalls to deepfakes of deceased politicians. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly talks to Oxford University scholar Amogh Dhar Sharma about India’s unique political culture and whether it offers a lesson for future elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová has been on the road talking about disinformation and foreign interference ahead of the European Union elections later this week. And that “Democracy Tour” took Jourová to California last week for meetings with tech CEOs about their role in the fight. On today’s POLITICO Tech, Jourová explains what she learned during her Silicon Valley visit and whether she’s feeling confident as voters head to the polls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Garry Tan, the CEO of startup accelerator YCombinator, has made waves in San Francisco politics, helping to oust the city’s most liberal politicians in favor of more centrist Democrats. Now, the tech-entrepreneur-turned-political-changemaker is turning his attention to Washington. On today's Politico Tech, host Steven Overly talks with Tan about exactly what he wants out of Washington. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Schools across the country are grappling with a new kind of harassment: generative artificial intelligence being used to create sexually explicit images and videos of students and teachers. States have passed a patchwork of laws to deal with the issue, but so far federal lawmakers have yet to act. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Dana Nickel and host Steven Overly break down the uneven legal landscape and discuss the victims who suffer as a result. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Artificial intelligence can do more than shape the future; it could also rewrite the past. AI-generated images and videos are now finding their way into documentary films, and the recently formed Archival Producers Alliance wants to set some ground rules. On POLITICO Tech, archival producers Rachel Antell and Stephanie Jenkins join host Steven Overly to discuss their concerns with AI muddying the historical record. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress allocated $39 billion to subsidize microchip manufacturing, part of President Joe Biden pledge to revive a dormant U.S. industry. Then, a backroom deal led to a chunk of that money being funneled into a furtive government program —- one quietly backed by national security agencies and a major technology company. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Christine Mui tells us all about “Secure Enclave.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dozens of governments around the globe cut their citizens off from the internet in 2023 — the worst year for such internet shutdowns since digital rights group Access Now began tracking them. It’s a trend that could have major consequences in 2024 as many countries hold elections, and as wars persist in Ukraine and Gaza. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly talks to Access Now Executive Director Brett Solomon about the reasons for these shutdowns and why he thinks they violate a “superhuman right” to internet access. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Colorado is the first state in the nation with major artificial intelligence regulations on the books. Starting in 2026, consumers will be notified when "high-risk” models are used to make important decisions about them. Colorado’s Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez — the guy who pushed the bill through — tells POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly how the law got over the finish line and why there’s still a fight ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Joe Biden just ramped up tariffs on electric vehicles, solar cells and other products made in China. It marks Biden’s latest move in an ongoing tech and trade war with Beijing, as well as his newest attempt to show voters he’s tougher on China than 2024 challenger Donald Trump. On POLITICO Tech, former White House senior director of international economics, Jen Harris, joins host Steven Overly to break down Biden’s trade approach to China and how she thinks he should be selling it on the campaign trail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman floated a radical idea recently: What if everyone got to own a piece of artificial intelligence? He called it “universal basic compute.” And while it may never become actual social policy, it reveals how the nation’s most influential tech brains are thinking about the AI future. POLITICO Digital Future Daily author Derek Robertson joins host Steven Overly to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate spent months consulting dozens of experts when crafting its new AI “policy roadmap.” One of them, computer science professor and former White House adviser Suresh Venkatasubramanian, is now blasting the final plan for being too favorable to the tech industry and failing to address risks like bias and deception. Venkatasubramanian joins POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly to explain where he thinks the roadmap comes up short. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The roll out this week of the Senate’s artificial intelligence policy roadmap was about as close to bipartisanship as Washington gets these days. But can it last? Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), one of the roadmap’s four co-authors, joins host Steven Overly to discuss what’s next as lawmakers look to pass actual legislation, and political divisions begin to emerge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Colorado and Connecticut attempted to become the first states to regulate artificial intelligence but faced significant pushback from the tech industry. In Connecticut, the governor then threatened to veto the legislation. And in Colorado, the governor is under pressure to do the same. Mallory Culhane, author of POLITICO's Morning Tech newsletter, joins host Steven Overly to discuss the fate of Colorado's AI legislation and whether other states will follow similar approaches to AI regulation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s AI policy roadmap is out this morning. The bipartisan report, co-authored with Sens. Martin Heinrich, Todd Young and Mike Rounds, calls for big bucks for AI research, and legislation in areas like workforce training. It’s expected to kick off a flurry of legislative action in the Senate, even as the election rapidly approaches. Reggie Babin, an attorney and lobbyist at Akin, worked as Schumer’s chief counsel until 2022. He joins POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly to break down the impact of the new AI roadmap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When President Joe Biden talks about artificial intelligence, he’ll often refer to the technology’s “promise and peril.” Yet much of his AI agenda to date has focused on the latter. Now, the White House is shifting focus to the “aspirational” uses of AI -- a change in tone that could be complicated by the perils that remain. On POLITICO Tech, Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar tells Steven Overly about Biden’s plan to “start shaping the next chapter” of AI focused on its upsides. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden’s signature CHIPS and Science Act promised the National Science Foundation a budget boost of $81 billion over five years. But so far, Congress hasn’t come through with the money. That has Sethuraman Panchanathan, the director of the NSF, persuading lawmakers to loosen the national purse strings, while in the meantime, cobbling together money from the NSF’s shrinking budget and the private sector to fund AI research projects. Steven Overly talked with "Panch" for today's episode of Politico Tech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The relationship between Washington and the tech industry has gone through no shortage of ups and downs over the years, but things were all smiles earlier this week at an AI expo hosted by the Special Competitive Studies Project. The CEO of that group, Ylli Bajraktari, talked to host Steven Overly about the Washington-Silicon Valley divide and why collaboration between industry and government is the only way he sees the U.S. beating China on AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CNN contributor and Dream Machine founder Van Jones met NobleReach Foundation CEO Arun Gupta at a tech festival. It turned out they’re both AI optimists, and think all the doom and gloom about the technology belies its larger benefits. On a live taping of POLITICO Tech, they join host Steven Overly to make the case for more communities to embrace — not fear — AI and for tech workers to enter public service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TikTok has long faced criticism for suspected ties to the Chinese government. But since the start of the war, U.S. officials have also accused the app of amplifying posts that are sympathetic to Hamas and damaging to Israel. But data from the app tells a more complex story. POLITICO reporter Mark Scott worked with Northeastern University researcher Laura Edelson to analyze some 350,000 TikTok posts about the war, and on today’s show, Mark explains their findings to host Steven Overly — and what the analysis reveals about TikTok’s response to a growing political crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda says AI is transforming education -- both how it’s delivered and what people are studying. On today's Politico Tech, Jeff’s case to host Steven Overly for why higher education needs an AI overhaul, and how he uses AI to help decide Coursera’s business strategy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s a legal battle brewing between TikTok and the federal government. But how anxious are US companies about losing one of the newest and frankly most exciting social media outlets in years? Rachel Karten had that question, too. She’s a social media consultant for brands like Cava and West Elm, and author of a Substack called Link in Bio, a newsletter about the business of social media. She spoke with host Steven Overly to talk about what she's hearing from brands and what losing TikTok could mean for online culture and commerce. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Right now, there’s probably a political candidate in your inbox asking for donations. Online fundraising has taken off in recent election cycles, and it’s now how many Washington hopefuls raise big bucks. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Jessica Piper joins host Steven Overly to talk about how digital platforms have changed the fundraising game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark says building a safe AI model — named Claude — will differentiate the company from its competitors. And he’s in Washington pushing for safety testing and product standards. Will that ultimately help established companies like his? He joined host Steven Overly to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacob Helberg was influential in pushing for the law that forces the sale of TikTok. Now, he wants Congress to prepare for a future conflict with China, one that has artificial intelligence at the center. Helberg, who is a senior policy adviser at Palantir Technologies and sits on the congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, joins host Steven Overly to talk about the next frontier in U.S. tech competition with China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

States are considering a slew of bills to regulate artificial intelligence, including whether companies must disclose that they’re using the technology to make decisions in areas like employment and housing. Consumer Reports policy analyst Grace Gedye joins POLITICO Tech to discuss loopholes that the advocacy group argues state lawmakers must close before passing new laws. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1952, TV news producers needed an edge on election night. And they found it in new "fearsome contraptions" called computers. On POLITICO Tech, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ira Chinoy joins host Steven Overly to talk about his new book, “Predicting the Winner: The Untold Story of Election Night 1952 and the Dawn of Computer Forecasting.” They go inside that pivotal election night, and what it tells us about political journalism and technology today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Washington’s fascination with AI has permeated its social life — from salon dinners to embassy receptions to networking nights. That includes festivities surrounding this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. On POLITICO Tech, media maven Tammy Haddad joins host Steven Overly to talk about her Washington AI Network and how AI is shaping D.C.’s social scene. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Micron Technology is getting $6.14 billion from the Biden administration to build microchip facilities in the U.S., becoming the fourth and final maker of leading-edge semiconductors to get government subsidies. On POLITICO Tech, Michael Schmidt, the director of the Commerce Department’s CHIPS Program Office, breaks down the deals and explains what comes next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Communications Commission will vote tomorrow to re-impose net neutrality, controversial regulations that require internet service providers to treat all websites equally. Ajit Pai is the former Republican FCC chair who took them away back in 2017. And he joins POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly to challenge Democrats’ reasons for bringing the rules back -- even as he says most Americans have moved on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All eyes are on the Senate this week, where lawmakers are taking up a bill that forces TikTok to find a new owner. Now, Congress can be an unpredictable place. But things have never looked worse for the popular app. So, what happens next? It seems clear that TikTok would take the U.S. government to court, likely arguing that forcing a sale, and potentially imposing a ban, violates the constitutional rights of TikTok’s investors and users. Right now, TikTok is locked in a lawsuit with the state of Montana over a ban passed last year. On today's Politico Tech, Steven Overly talks with Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, the man at the center of the state's proposed ban, about what he expects from TikTok’s coming legal fight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United Arab Emirates has produced some of the world’s biggest open-source AI models. And that was before Microsoft put big money into one of its AI companies last week — part of the U.S. effort to pull the Gulf nation away from China’s influence. At an Atlantic Council event, the country’s AI minister, His Excellency Omar Al Olama, spoke with host Steven Overly about AI alliances, global rulemaking and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Officials from the Chinese embassy have been making the rounds on Capitol Hill as U.S. lawmakers weigh a forced sale of the video-sharing app TikTok. Reporter Hailey Fuchs joins POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly to explain what happened inside the meetings and how they could complicate TikTok’s own lobbying efforts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our language is fundamental to our cultural identity. And many European countries worry artificial intelligence will erase those languages and the cultures that come with them. But could those fears really be code for falling behind in the AI race? POLITICO reporter Gian Volpicelli joins host Steven Overly to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Communications Commission will vote next week to restore regulations that require internet service providers to treat websites equally, otherwise known as net neutrality. Tom Wheeler was the chair of the FCC the last time those rules were put in place. He joins POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly to talk about how artificial intelligence gives new life to this old policy battle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The future of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act now lies in the Senate, following a contentious path to reauthorization in the House last week. Behind the scenes, the Biden administration has been pressing both chambers to extend the law -- and successfully pushing back on some proposed reforms. On POLITICO Tech, National Security Council legal adviser Joshua Geltzer defends the need for government spy programs amid simmering global conflicts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we’re talking taxes. Stanford law professor Dan Ho has been working with the IRS to figure out how machine learning and artificial intelligence can improve the agency -- including a study he led last year that found evidence of racial bias in its audits. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly talks with Ho about using AI to root our human bias, and how the technology is changing up Tax Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The House is expected to vote on a key foreign surveillance law set to expire next week. The fight over the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, has pit national security hawks who defend the government surveillance program against lawmakers who say it's been used to unlawfully spy on American citizens. Host Steven Overly unpacks the criticisms with Elizabeth Goitein, a former Capitol Hill attorney who now leads the Liberty and National Security Program at NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chinese disinformation network known as Spamouflage has never gotten much traction on social media. Then, a small number of accounts started pretending to be American. On POLITICO Tech, senior analyst Elise Thomas from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue explains why pro-Trump and anti-Biden tweets from a group with ties to the Chinese Communist Party may signal deeper concerns about 2024 election interference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices