POLITICO Tech - podcast cover

POLITICO Tech

POLITICOwww.politico.com
The POLITICO Tech podcast is your download on the disruption that technology is bringing to politics and policy. New episodes on Thursdays.
Last refreshed:
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Download Metacast podcast app
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Taking Meta to court over kids’ privacy

More than 30 states filed a sweeping lawsuit against Meta on Tuesday — accusing the company of violating children’s privacy and misrepresenting the platform’s harms. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Rebecca Kern and host Steven Overly break down the accusations and what the case potentially means for Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 25, 202316 min

Google DeepMind talks AI risks

Global regulators face no shortage of open questions about how to assess the risks of artificial intelligence — and who should bear responsibility for addressing them. On today’s POLITICO Tech, Google DeepMind general counsel Tom Lue tells host Steven Overly how the company is answering those questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 24, 202323 min

Inside the latest move in Biden’s China tech war

A year ago, the Biden administration took a direct hit at China’s tech ambitions when it slapped trade restrictions on microchips and the equipment needed to make them. Just last week, U.S. officials tightened the screws further by expanding those restrictions -- what the government calls export controls -- to cover certain sophisticated chips that are necessary to develop artificial intelligence. On today's show, Steven Overly talks with Thea Rozman Kendler, the Commerce Department official beh...

Oct 23, 202320 min

The 'effective altruists' influencing Washington on AI

There's a contingent of "effective altruists" pouring millions of dollars into Washington to influence the policy debate around artificial intelligence. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Brendan Bordelon and host Steven Overly discuss the motives and ethics of one of the movement's biggest players in town. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 20, 202316 min

What's behind the U.K.'s AI blitz

The British ambassador opened her residence to techies from around Washington this week, part of a promotional blitz for the UK's upcoming AI safety summit. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly's live interview from that gathering with Emran Mian, one of the U.K.'s top tech civil servants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 19, 202318 min

The AI Bill of Rights co-author on what should come next

One year ago, the White House published an AI Bill of Rights. On POLITICO Tech, the co-author of that blueprint, Suresh Venkatasubramian, tells Steven Overly how the Biden administration should build on it with a forthcoming executive order that gives federal agencies directions for buying and using artificial intelligence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 18, 202319 min

How the U.K. wants to steer the AI debate

The U.K. aims to be at the forefront of the global conversation about artificial intelligence. The cornerstone of that effort is a safety summit it will be hosting in two weeks that British tech officials are very eager to talk about. On today's show, Michelle Donelan, the U.K.’s secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, talks with host Steven Overly about the summit and where the U.K. wants to position itself in the AI conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...

Oct 17, 202325 min

Nathaniel Fick is America’s first tech ambassador. It’s a tricky job.

Nathaniel Fick has a complex mandate as the first U.S. ambassador at large for cyberspace and digital policy. He was recently in Kyoto, Japan, to finalize an artificial intelligence pact with G-7 countries. At that same time, Hamas launched an attack on Israel that shocked the world and set off a deadly war. On today’s POLITICO Tech, Fick explains to host Steven Overly how tech diplomacy factors into both. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Oct 16, 202320 min

Intel’s microchip push and pull between the US and China

Intel's plans to invest billions in U.S. semiconductor production have made it a White House darling. But the Biden administration's crackdown on China's access to chips could still sting the company's business there. On POLITICO Tech, Intel's Bruce Andrews tells Steven Overly why the company wants to see a less restrictive approach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 13, 202324 min

Technology was supposed to prevent the Hamas attack. What happened?

The border between Israel and Gaza was supposed to be fortified with some of the world’s most sophisticated security technology. But Hamas fighters managed to breach it anyway, and carried out a brutal attack. On POLITICO Tech, deputy tech editor Daniella Cheslow explains what the attack reveals about Israel’s world-class border technology, and the glaring tech disparities between people living in Israel and Gaza. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Oct 12, 202313 min

How Hamas used social media to amplify its attack on Israel

Social media was a key tool of Hamas militants as they waged their brutal attack on Israel over the weekend. On POLITICO Tech, the Atlantic Council’s Graham Brookie tells Steven Overly how the group leaned on platforms with loose rules against terrorism propaganda and misinformation to sow fear and misinformation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 11, 202319 min

IBM’s CEO on AI layoffs, lawsuits and what comes next

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna is both making artificial intelligence and grappling with its effects. On today’s POLITICO Tech, Krishna tells host Steven Overly why AI makes must be held accountable and why he’s not exactly worried about AI displacing a bunch of human workers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 10, 202323 min

One year ago, Biden took a bite at China's chips. Here's how it's going.

It’s been a year since the Biden administration imposed trade restrictions on American companies selling microchips and equipment to China. On today’s POLITICO Tech, Steven Overly breaks down what loopholes still exist and how Washington might try to plug them with Gregory Allen from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 06, 202321 min

There’s an election ‘megacycle’ coming. The world isn’t ready.

Next year will mark the first time the U.S., U.K. and EU each have major elections at the same time. That will be a big test for democracies already battered by disinformation. On today’s POLITICO Tech, reporter Mark Scott and Steven Overly explore this unique political moment and the consequences of how it plays out online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 05, 202317 min

Why PepsiCo is powering your snacks with AI

Using AI to improve Cheetos? That's something PepsiCo has experimented with. On today’s POLITICO Tech, Athina Kanioura, chief strategy and transformation officer for PepsiCo, tells Steven Overly that using AI to make employees faster and more efficient hasn’t led PepsiCo to replace human workers as many fear. And why the company has determined that in some jobs the technology is simply off limits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Oct 04, 202320 min

Rep. Yvette Clarke’s plan to fix AI bias

As Congress eyes new rules for artificial intelligence, Democratic Rep. Yvette Clarke argues there’s a fundamental element of the technology that should not overlook: the humans behind it. On today’s POLITICO Tech, Clarke tells Steven Overly that Congress faces a critical moment for addressing human bias in AI systems -- but it remains to be seen whether bills she’s re-introduced can gain traction this time around. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Oct 03, 202320 min

The EU’s AI guy has some advice for Congress

EU officials are holding negotiations over new artificial intelligence rules with hopes of having them in place by year’s end. On today’s POLITICO Tech, one of the leaders behind that effort, EU parliamentarian Dragos Tudorache, tells Steven Overly what advice he’s given U.S. lawmakers as they embark on their on regulatory process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 02, 202322 min

Biden’s tech adviser on the risks and rewards of AI

The Biden administration is crafting an executive order to capture the good and minimize the bad from AI. And it’s working to get other countries aligned on AI and cyber risks. In a live taping of POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly gets an update on those efforts from Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging tech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 29, 202324 min

Sen. Mark Warner’s big AI idea is to think small

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) has been through his share of tech battles on Capitol Hill — and seen lawmakers fail to implement legislation time and again. On today’s POLITICO Tech, he argues Congress needs to take a different approach to regulating artificial intelligence and even cracking down on Chinese tech. His pitch: Be less ambitious. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 28, 202328 min

What a former FTC chair thinks about the Amazon lawsuit

Yesterday the Federal Trade Commission dropped its long-awaited case against Amazon. In a massive legal complaint, federal antitrust officials outlined exactly why they believe Amazon is a monopoly, and how it has used its market power to kneecap its competitors. Former FTC chair Bill Kovacic gives host Steven Overly his download on the case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 27, 202326 min

Here’s why writing global AI rules will be so hard

The U.N. General Assembly displayed just how focused world leaders are on artificial intelligence. The gathering also raised real questions about whether existing global institutions are equipped to handle it. On today’s POLITICO Tech, former Ambassador Karen Kornbluh breaks down obstacles to creating global AI rules and argues a new global body is part of the solution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Sep 26, 202319 min

How the FTC is reinventing itself for the digital age

On the show today, Mohar Chatterjee talks with Sam Levine, director of the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection and one of the key people on the front-lines of defining market practices for big tech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 25, 202318 min

Confessions of Congress's former tech crusader

Former Rep. David Cicilline formed an unlikely alliance with Republican Ken Buck in a failed bid to break up big tech companies. Though he has since left Congress, Cicilline’s distrust of the industry hasn’t diminished. On POLITICO Tech, he reflects on what he and Buck started, and the rising pressure on his former colleagues to curb tech’s power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 22, 202318 min

The Hugging Face case for open AI

Clem Delangue says open-source AI was vital to starting his company, Hugging Face. Now, he finds himself defending open AI models as Washington considers new regulations. On POLITICO Tech, Delangue explains why he views open-source AI as not only safe, but necessary to prevent big tech companies from gaining more market power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 21, 202318 min

Inside U.K. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Silicon Valley-sized ambitions

U.K. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has a goal to make the U.K. become a tech hub on par with San Francisco. And he sees the country’s bench of artificial intelligence companies and researchers as key to helping it get there. Host Steven Overly talked with Hunt as he kicks off a multi-day visit to the West Coast… a charm offensive he hopes will draw U.S. firms closer to the U.K. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Sep 20, 202315 min

The EU's tech rules are here. But how strict will enforcers be?

The European Union has been ahead of most of the world when it comes to regulating the tech industry - but writing the rules is not the same as enforcing them. POLITICO’s Clothilde Goujard joins Steven Overly to discuss what’s at stake for companies and regulators alike as the EU’s much-anticipated laws come into effect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 19, 202318 min

How to confront the 'AI dilemma'

Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin have been pushing for changes to social media companies' business models for years. Now, they're doing the same with AI. On POLITICO Tech, the co-founders of the Center for Humane Technology tell Steven Overly why Washington will need to speed up if it hopes to effectively keep AI's risks in check. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 18, 202326 min

How tech fits into Rep. Mike Gallagher’s China wargames

What would war with China be like? Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) has put that question to defense and finance experts. Now, he says it would be “useful” to game out that scenario with tech companies as well. On today’s POLITICO Tech, Gallagher argues that imposing tougher restrictions on business with China’s tech sector today would make a difference should conflict ever become reality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Sep 15, 202322 min

AI can now create art and write books. Copyright law is trying to keep up.

The number of creators seeking legal protections for AI-generated work is rising — and that’s vexing copyright officials. Exactly how much human creativity must art and literature contain under the law? On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly takes that question and others to Shira Perlmutter, the director of the U.S. Copyright Office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 14, 202319 min

What Microsoft’s Brad Smith wants from Schumer on AI

Microsoft President Brad Smith is among the tech leaders joining the Senate's big AI forum today. On POLITICO Tech, Smith tells Steven Overly what new AI rules Microsoft is calling on Congress to impose -- and why he thinks others in the regulation-averse tech industry should get on board. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 13, 202323 min
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android