POLITICO Tech

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

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...

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 t...

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 th...

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...

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...

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, reporte...

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, tal...

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. L...

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...

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...

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...

The complex relationship between technology and mental health has captured increased attention in recent years, especially among regulators, amid rising concerns about the negative effects of social media, video games and artificial intelligence. On POLITICO Tech, the CEO of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Arthur Evans, tells host Steven Overly how to make tech work better for humans....

If there’s a unifying theme to this year’s CES, it’s that artificial intelligence is everywhere.  But the anxiety about what AI means for the future of work has been on display, too. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly discusses how those concerns are being addressed at the world’s largest employer with Walmart executive vice president Dan Bartlett, as well as the labor movement’s outspoken skept...

Greetings from Las Vegas! POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly travels to CES this week to explore how the annual gadget pageant reflects many of the big tech debates around privacy, safety and artificial intelligence. On the show today, he gets the download on what to expect from this year’s CES from Consumer Technology Association President and CEO Gary Shapiro and Digital Future Daily author Derek...

There are multiple court cases and legal tests that could influence tech regulation for years. The action is everywhere — in state courts, being looked at by federal judges – and of course at the Supreme Court, which is slated to hear two cases with major implications for online speech. Steven Overly talks with Alexandra Reeve Givens, a First Amendment scholar and the president and chief executive...

What if generative AI could let you chat with doppelgangers of brilliant people, in their words, at any time?  POLITICO’s Mohar Chatterjee digs into unnerving experiments from Beijing to Venice Beach to create AI-generated replicas of living human psychologists. Her story shows a policy vacuum around digital consent - and  possibly, a new way for experts to imagine influence and legacy in the age...

There are 22 million households enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program, each receiving a subsidy from the federal government for their monthly internet bill. But unless Congress acts, the program will soon run out of money. On POLITICO Tech, reporter John Hendel tells host Steven Overly why partisan politics could effectively kill the program, and what that would mean for closing the digi...

Little federal policymaking is likely to get done in an election year. But that doesn’t mean tech policy will be totally dead in Washington. On POLITICO Tech, Darrell West from the Brookings Institution explains what Congress could actually get done if lawmakers set aside their differences -- again, in an election year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

States passed dozens of new tech laws last year on issues like AI, data privacy and kids’ online safety. Congress… talked about a lot of laws. The University of North Carolina’s Matt Perault expects that dynamic to continue in 2024. On POLITICO Tech, Perault shares predictions for state-level tech policy in the year to come with host Steven Overly.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna is both making artificial intelligence and grappling with its effects. In this rebroadcast, 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. Politico Tech will be taking a break for the rest of the year and will be back in your feeds on January 2nd, 2024. Learn more about you...

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. Warner outlined his ideas for where Congress should start with AI regulation — ideas that will be worth watching for in the new year.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House lawmakers have laid out a lengthy plan for confronting Beijing’s rising tech ambitions. The recommendations come from a bipartisan committee that has spending much of the past year examining fractures in the U.S.-China relationship, and weighing how the U.S. should prepare for a potential future conflict. On POLITICO Tech, the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), te...

The U.S. Congress is still figuring out how to rein in Big Tech companies. Mark MacCarthy from the Brookings Institution and Georgetown University has a bold idea: create an entirely new tech regulator. It’s a tall ask considering Congress hasn’t passed major tech legislation to date, but on POLITICO Tech, MacCarthy tells host Steven Overly why he thinks it’s necessary. Learn more about your ad ch...

Bradley Tusk is a man with many hats: political consultant, venture capitalist, author. His new book, “Obvious in Hindsight,” is a satire about politics and tech, but it's not hard to see the fact through the fiction. On POLITICO Tech, Tusk tells host Steven Overly more about the book, and weighs in on tech fights happening both on and off the page. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...