A recent experiment involving two fake political ads tested voter reactions to seeing AI disclaimers — with surprising results. The study’s lead researcher Scott Babwah Brennen, the director of the Center on Technology Policy at NYU, joins Steven Overly to break down the findings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Artificial intelligence may not be as smart as humans — at least not yet — but the technology is progressing faster than Aidan Gomez ever imagined. Now, the Cohere CEO says the trick is convincing people and companies to embrace it. On POLITICO Tech, Gomez sits down with host Steven Overly to talk about what that will take and how fast it can happen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week marks one year since the Hamas attack that left about 1,200 Israelis dead. Since then, tens of thousands of people have been killed -- the majority of them Palestinians living in Gaza. And many, many more have had their lives profoundly disrupted. But an online war has also raged over the past year. Social media has been flooded with disinformation and propaganda, part of an all-out effort to distort the conflict and how it's viewed around the world. Host Steven Overly called up Atlant...
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa wants to scare some sense into us. The U.S. election is just a month away,and she says the outcome is a tipping point in the fight for democracy over autocracy. Maria founded the news site Rappler in the Philippines back in 2012 and faced relentless persecution for her journalism under former President Rodrigo Duterte. Host Steven Overly sat down with Ressa to talk about the state of journalism, big tech, and disinformation as she sees it today. Learn more ...
A recent poll conducted by a policy research firm called the Rainey Center asked people about the tech issues that matter most to them. Today, host Steven Overly digs into voters top-of-mind tech issues with Katie Harbath, the chief global affairs officer at Duco Experts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There’s a Republican attack ad in Indiana that in recent days has gotten a lot of attention — a digitally altered image that Sen. Mike Braun’s campaign put out, before slapping a required disclosure label on it, and highlighting it as a prime example of complying with a new Indiana law about deepfakes. Host Steven Overly talks with national political reporter Adam Wren about the unfolding ad drama, and the potential legal battle it could trigger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...
Ever since it became clear that Kamala Harris would be the Democratic nominee, there’s been speculation about whether she will continue the Biden administration’s crackdown on big tech companies. In particular, questions about how she will handle ongoing antitrust investigations and lawsuits. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Josh Sisco joins host Steven Overly to discuss the Harris antitrust agenda and why it has both the tech industry’s friends and critics on edge. Steven Overly is the host of POLITI...
Today, we’re talking California. Specifically, Governor Gavin Newsom’s veto of California’s sweeping AI bill that was meant to impose safety vetting requirements for powerful AI models. California reporters Lara Korte and Jeremy White chat with Annie Rees about what happened and what’s ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What does the future of war look like? That’s a big question — and one that POLITICO reporter Mohar Chatterjee asked Pentagon’s AI chief Radha Plumb. She spoke to Mohar about the Pentagon's massive backend AI overhaul, how the agency’s innovation approach stacks up against China’s, and the ethics of using AI in battle. Mohar Chatterjee is an technology reporter for POLITICO. Annie Rees is the managing producer for audio at POLITICO. Afra Abdullah is a POLITICO audio producer. Learn more about yo...
Electric vehicles are transforming Georgia’s economy with billions of dollars in clean tech investments and jobs, but local voters aren’t interested in buying the new vehicles. That presents a unique political problem for Democrats and Republicans this election season and prompts questions about Americans’ attitudes toward new climate technologies. On POLITICO Tech, David Ferris from POLITICO’s E&E News breaks down Georgia’s EV identity crisis and what that means for the 2024 presidential race. ...
How does the Biden administration break up with certain Chinese tech supply chains without severing trade ties with China? That's a question we're watching play out right now. Jon Bateman, the co-director of the Technology and International Affairs Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote a report in 2022 that remains a key document in unpacking the challenges of technological decoupling with China — and in today's episode of POLITICO Tech, he talks with POLITICO's D.C.-b...
When Donald Trump was first elected to the White House, he tapped a young and relatively unknown guy named Michael Kratsios to be the nation’s chief technology officer. Today, Kratsios is back outside politics, working as the managing director at the company Scale AI. At Politico’s AI and Tech Summit last week, he spoke with POLITCO’s global tech editor Steve Heuser. They talked about what Trump’s tech policy might look like in a second term, and why he thinks Vance will be a champion for “littl...
Marietje Schaake thinks Silicon Valley has pulled off a major power grab, taking on decisions that were once made by elected leaders and democratic governments. A former EU parliamentarian now at Stanford, Schaake outlines the problems posed by tech’s growing influence over our daily lives in a new book, “The Tech Coup.” On POLITICO Tech, Schaake joins host Steven Overly to explain what governments can do to take back their power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There’s growing concern among global leaders that artificial intelligence will be controlled only by the wealthiest nations — the same nations that control most of the technology today. Eurasia Group founder and president Ian Bremmer serves on the UN’s AI advisory body and co-authored a report outlining ideas for making AI more equitable. On POLITICO Tech, Bremmer tells host Steven Overly what he thinks a new international AI order should look like and why it’s key to addressing one of the bigge...
The UN General Assembly kicks off this weekend and world leaders are expected to have tech top of mind. Google CEO Sundar Pichai will be there, making a rare, high-profile speech where he’s expected to urge world leaders to work together. Ahead of his address, POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly talked with Karan Bhatia, Google’s global head of government affairs and public policy, about Google’s AI message to the world, the regulations it can live with and whether its antitrust trials are hamperin...
POLITICO held its AI and Tech Summit earlier this week, where host Steven Overly sat down with Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar. On today’s episode, we air that conversation. Klobuchar is one of the Senate’s leading Democratic voices warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence this election cycle; and as Senate Rules Committee chair, she introduced legislation that would ban AI deepfakes of candidates and require disclaimers for political ads made with AI. But with the election now week...
Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) is helping set the House’s artificial intelligence agenda as co-chair of a bipartisan task force in the House. That includes more than a dozen AI-related bills he thinks the lower chamber can pass this year. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly sat down with Obernolte at POLITICO’s AI & Tech Summit this week for a live taping of the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Bradley Tusk started his career in government before making big bucks in tech and venture capital. He’s now pouring millions of dollars into building and testing technology that would allow people to cast votes from a smartphone. On POLITICO Tech, Tusk joins host Steven Overly to discuss his new book, “Vote With Your Phone,” and lay out his case for why mobile voting can save democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
False promises of a high-tech future that’s good for humanity have allowed Silicon Valley to hoodwink policymakers and the public, argues cognitive scientist and tech critic Gary Marcus. And with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, Marcus says it’s more urgent than ever for governments to rein the industry in. On today’s POLITICO Tech, Marcus joins host Steven Overly to discuss ideas for how to do that from his new book, “Taming Silicon Valley.” Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
Washington isn’t poised to pass major AI legislation. Ottawa isn’t either. So Canadian computer scientist Yoshua Bengio, one of the “godfathers” of artificial intelligence, is looking to Sacramento. He’s urging California Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign an AI safety bill by month’s end — and facing off against influential tech executives who want it killed. On today’s POLITICO Tech, Bengio explains why he thinks California needs to regulate now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...
Students in Florida, Indiana and Ohio returned to the classroom this fall with new restrictions on cellphones. It's part of a crackdown on screen time and social media by school administrators and political leaders who fear the technology is harmful to students' learning and mental health. 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. Vis...
Former President Donald Trump plans to tap tech billionaire Elon Musk to lead a new government efficiency commission if elected in November. But it’s a post that would raise conflicts of interest with Musk’s day jobs running Tesla, SpaceX and X, formerly known as Twitter. On POLITICO Tech, Danielle Brian from the Project on Government Oversight joins host Steven Overly to discuss the ethical concerns at play. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Police officers routinely write reports after traffic stops, robberies and other daily encounters. And increasingly, they’re using artificial intelligence software from police technology company Axon to do it. But POLITICO reporter Alfred Ng found department policies for labeling which reports are AI generated are inconsistent. On POLITICO Tech, Ng breaks down some of the legal and ethical questions the criminal justice system has to sort out as a result. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
Russia’s latest effort to meddle in American politics involved a scheme centered on conservative internet influencers in the U.S., the Justice Department revealed recently. It’s yet another sign that the interplay between foreign and domestic disinformation campaigns is as tight as ever. On POLITICO Tech, Bret Schafer from the Alliance for Securing Democracy joins host Steven Overly to break down how that complicates tech companies’ efforts to fight back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
The California legislature passed a sweeping AI safety bill over the opposition of tech industry lobbyists. Now, whether it actually becomes law will depend on Gov. Gavin Newsom. And he has until month’s end to sign or veto it. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Jeremy White joins host Steven Overly to explain who has the most influence on Newsom’s decisions and why it could affect AI regulation in Washington. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) stepped onto the House floor in July and became the first person to address Congress using artificial intelligence. Wexton was diagnosed last year with an aggressive and incurable brain disease called progressive supranuclear palsy that, among other symptoms, has made her natural speaking voice weaker and less clear. So she turned to an AI replica. On POLITICO Tech, Wexton joins host Steven Overly to talk about using an AI-generated voice, and how her experience has ...
An investment fund for tech startups helping Republicans to win elections has put less money into fewer companies than its Democratic rival. (We talked to them a few episodes back, go give it a listen.) But Eric Wilson, the managing partner at Startup Caucus, contends that doesn’t mean the GOP is behind. On POLITICO Tech, Wilson tells host Steven Overly why Republican campaigns are less reliant on technology than Democrats, at least for now, and how that’s going to change. Learn more about your ...
With the presidential election just two months away, this is prime disinformation season. The period immediately before and after Election Day is when administrators worry most about campaigns to deceive voters. On POLITICO Tech, Darrell West from the Brookings Institution joins host Steven Overly to discuss the new book “Lies That Kill” and how people can protect themselves from online disinformation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The tech industry may not be the voting bloc that will matter most come November, but the grassroots group Tech4Kamala is hoping to drown out the billionaire executives backing former President Donald Trump with a groundswell of support from entrepreneurs and workers. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly sits down with Tech4Kamala co-founder Shannon Nash at the Democratic National Convention to talk about the Silicon Valley divide and why she sees Harris as the most tech-friendly candidate. Lear...
Political campaigns are increasingly powered by artificial intelligence, using the technology for behind-the-scenes tasks like writing fundraising emails or social media posts. And in tight races, the best technology (used the right way) can make a big difference. That idea motivated Betsy Hoover and other Democratic campaign veterans to start Higher Ground Labs, a venture fund for left-leaning startups. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly spoke with Hoover on the sidelines of the Democratic Na...
