The Supreme Court dropped a major decision affecting the future of online speech last week. But the ruling was not exactly decisive. And the legal battle isn’t over yet. On POLITICO Tech, Matt Wood from the advocacy group Free Press joins host Steven Overly to break down what comes next in the fight over laws in Texas and Florida that aim to prevent social media platforms from moderating political speech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 10, 2024•15 min
The next administration will play a pivotal role in shaping artificial intelligence, but how much would that differ under Joe Biden or Donald Trump? On today’s POLITICO Tech, Dr. Alondra Nelson tackles that question. Nelson served as the head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy before leaving the administration last year and played a central role in shaping Biden’s early AI policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 09, 2024•22 min
The number of Americans dying from an opioid overdose soared during the Covid pandemic. One theory for how to bring those numbers down? Better data. A recent multi-year study from the National Institutes of Health tried to find out if county health departments could make progress against America’s horrifying opioid epidemic if they had much more robust data, with mixed results. On the show today, POLITICO healthcare reporter Ruth Reader talks with Steven Overly about the findings in the NIH stud...
Jul 08, 2024•17 min
Today, host Steven Overly talks with Renée DiResta, a former technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, about her book "Invisible Rulers" on online influencers' power. DiResta's work on political advocates versus profit-driven disinformation spreaders sparked controversy after the 2020 election, leading to Stanford dismantling its Internet Observatory and raising concerns about disinformation research ahead of the 2024 election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...
Jun 28, 2024•21 min
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Biden administration in Missouri v. Biden, a case about government influence on social media content moderation. Guest host Rebecca Kern called Alex Abdo at the Knight First Amendment Institute to discuss the court's 6-3 decision and its potential implications for online speech as we approach the 2024 election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 27, 2024•18 min
Eurasia Group games out political risk. And when it comes to tech, Vice Chair Gerald Butts sees a lot of them. A former adviser to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Butts joins POLITICO Tech to talk about the global competition around AI and tech tensions between the U.S. and Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 26, 2024•20 min
Nvidia has rapidly become one of the world’s most valuable companies, propelled by the global rush to develop artificial intelligence. But the company’s success was not actually all that sudden — and it’s not guaranteed to last. On POLITICO Tech, market analyst Dylan Patel of SemiAnalysis joins host Steven Overly to break down Nvidia’s humble start and the potential challenges ahead, from competition to regulation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 25, 2024•14 min
Los Angeles will soon ban cell phones and social media in schools, becoming the latest school district to crack down on tech in the classroom. California at large could be next. On POLITICO Tech, Stanford professor and former schoolteacher Antero Garcia joins host Steven Overly to explain why he thinks such bans are bad policy — and bound to fail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 24, 2024•18 min
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
Jun 21, 2024•14 min
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 the...
Jun 20, 2024•18 min
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
Jun 18, 2024•14 min
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...
Jun 17, 2024•18 min
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 campaig...
Jun 14, 2024•29 min
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 conv...
Jun 13, 2024•19 min
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, Be...
Jun 12, 2024•20 min
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
Jun 11, 2024•15 min
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
Jun 10, 2024•14 min
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 choic...
Jun 07, 2024•17 min
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
Jun 06, 2024•19 min
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
Jun 05, 2024•18 min
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
Jun 04, 2024•22 min
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 meg...
Jun 03, 2024•27 min
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
May 31, 2024•18 min
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/...
May 30, 2024•17 min
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
May 29, 2024•19 min
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
May 28, 2024•16 min
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 righ...
May 24, 2024•22 min
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
May 23, 2024•17 min
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 t...
May 22, 2024•15 min
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
May 21, 2024•17 min
