The Supreme Court will hear arguments in two lawsuits today -- the outcomes of which could shape the way governments regulate social media. At issue are laws in Texas and Florida that put restrictions on how platforms like Facebook, YouTube and X police online material. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly talks to Carl Szabo, the general counsel at NetChoice, a tech association challenging the social media laws in Texas and Florida. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Feb 26, 2024•17 min
The Department of Homeland Security has an enormous footprint. Everything from policing the southern border to processing visas for high skilled immigrants, Investigations into child sexual material online, domestic security threats, and election security. So how DHS brings AI to bear is going to have an outsized impact on the American people, And behind those decisions at DHS is Eric Hysen. On today's episode, Mohar Chatterjee talks with Eric Hysen, chief AI officer at the Department of Homelan...
Feb 23, 2024•21 min
Washington is in the midst of its first real crackdown on AI-generated deepfakes, as federal agencies take action to combat robocalls, election misinformation and fraud. But will it be enough? Public Citizen CEO Robert Weissman tackles that question with host Steven Overly on today’s POLITICO Tech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 22, 2024•18 min
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 ...
Feb 21, 2024•13 min
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 electio...
Feb 20, 2024•23 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 16, 2024•17 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...
Feb 15, 2024•16 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 14, 2024•18 min
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 man...
Feb 13, 2024•20 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 12, 2024•17 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 09, 2024•19 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 08, 2024•20 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 07, 2024•17 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 06, 2024•12 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 05, 2024•17 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 02, 2024•14 min
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 a...
Feb 01, 2024•20 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 31, 2024•15 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 30, 2024•20 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 29, 2024•16 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 26, 2024•22 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...
Jan 25, 2024•15 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 24, 2024•18 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 23, 2024•18 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
Jan 22, 2024•15 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 19, 2024•14 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 18, 2024•20 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 17, 2024•17 min
CES is something of a gadget pageant, where companies show off out-there technologies in over-the-top displays. But last week’s annual tech gathering in Las Vegas also offers insight into where consumer technology is headed. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly breaks down some of the weird and wonderful tech trends at CES with Wired’s senior reviews editor, Julian Chokkattu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 16, 2024•20 min
At CES, no foreign country is better represented than China. It’s second only to the U.S. in the number of companies on display — many of them looking to expand in the U.S. market. Meanwhile, American skepticism of Chinese-made technologies has hit an all-time high. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly talks U.S. tech competition with Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alan Davidson, deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger, and Siemens U.S. CEO Barbara Humpton. Learn more about your ad choi...
Jan 12, 2024•12 min
