POLITICO Tech

Brad Crabtree is the assistant secretary for fossil energy and carbon management at the Energy Department -- a position that puts him at the center of the U.S. efforts to promote carbon capture technology. On POLITICO Tech, Crabtree explains the administration’s case for capturing more carbon, despite criticisms from climate activists that it favors the fossil fuel industry. Learn more about your...

The push for technologies that remove carbon from the atmosphere – carbon capture – has been driving a new wedge in the climate fight. And those tensions were on display at COP28 over the past two weeks. On POLITICO Tech, POLITICO energy reporter Zack Colman joins from Dubai to discuss how the geopolitics of climate tech are playing out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...

The European Union reached a political agreement to regulate artificial intelligence -- a comprehensive law that will set a new global standard. EU parliamentarian Dragos Tudorache returns to POLITICO Tech to take host Steven Overly inside the tense negotiations and explain what the EU AI Act will actually change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Malo Bourgon doesn’t know exactly what existential threats AI poses, but he says we should be preparing for them anyway. Bourgon is the CEO of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and among those who fear AI could go deeply awry if it falls into the wrong hands. On today’s show, Bourgon tells host Steven Overly what tech restrictions he wants to see in place. Learn more about your ad choice...

Spot the robot dog has drawn public backlash for its use by law enforcement. But Robert Playter, the CEO of Spot’s creator, Boston Dynamics, says notions of robots taking over the world are fantasies fueled by fear. On POLITICO Tech, he tells host Steven Overly what the robot future will really look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The doomsday scenarios about AI run amok garner a lot of attention, but would policymakers be better off focusing on its  problems here and now? That’s the case Janet Haven, executive director at Data & Society, makes on today’s POLITICO Tech with host Steven Overly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's an AI  firestorm coming next year — and it won’t be in Washington. Look instead to Sacramento. On POLITICO Tech, California politics reporter Jeremy White tells host Steven Overly about the wave of AI legislation coming to the Golden State. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plenty of people have opinions on artificial intelligence -- especially its potential risks and what to do about them. Daniel Colson’s AI Policy Institute has set out  to measure those public attitudes through polls. On POLITICO Tech, Colson tells host Steven Overly that there’s bipartisan fear about AI’s destructive potential and argues those results ought to spur regulators into action. Learn mo...

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have criticized the Biden administration’s  digital trade agenda, going so far as to say recent policy decisions are giving China a leg up in the global tech race. On POLITICO Tech, Reps. Darin Lahood (R-Ill.) and Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) argue U.S. trade officials must change course in a conversation with host Steven Overly. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

The big U.N. Climate Change Conference -- COP28 -- is underway in Dubai and the role of emerging technologies in the fight against global warming is likely to be a recurring theme. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly asks Marcene Mitchell of the World Wildlife Fund to expound on the promise and the hype behind these technologies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Abortion access has changed dramatically since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. And the landscape for data privacy protections is changing, too. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly examines the current state of privacy concerns over period-tracking apps and other health data with POLITICO reporter Ruth Reader. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The conventional wisdom is that the U.S. and China are battling it out for AI dominance, and that the US has an upper hand when it comes to developing the technology. On POLITICO Tech, Bill Drexel and Hannah Kelley from the Center for a New American Security tell host Steven Overly that China is ahead in one key area: exporting AI around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...

The Federal Election Commission is often politically gridlocked. Now, there’s growing pressure on the agency to consider rules for political ads that contain AI-generated deepfakes. On POLITICO Tech, Democratic FEC Chair Dara Lindenbaum tells host Steven Overly why those calls for action face a bigger obstacle than partisanship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was abruptly ousted by the company’s board — until he was brought back days later. The Silicon Valley melodrama revealed tensions over how to manage the future of AI. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly discusses the fallout with Dewey Murdick, executive director at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

AI-generated deepfakes are expected to disrupt the 2024 election cycle. But Matt Perault and Scott Babwah Brennen at the University of North Carolina’s Center on Technology Policy say some fears are overblown. On POLITICO Tech, they talk with host Steven Overly about the potential problems with and policy fixes for political deepfakes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Ca) is one of the few members of Congress with a background in computer science. But in this rebroadcast from September, he tells Steven Overly why he believes lawmakers don’t need tech expertise to regulate AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former President Barack Obama recently published a short list of articles, podcasts and books that have shaped his views on AI. And among them is a book that was published in September called, “The Coming Wave,” written by Mustafa Suleyman, the co-founder of Google DeepMind and current CEO of Inflection AI. In this rebroadcast from September, Steven Overly talks with Mustafa Suleyman, the chief ex...

The writers and actor's strikes may be over, but many of the issues at the center of the strike — including AI — remain ongoing. In this rebroadcast from August, Steven Overly talks with filmmaker Justine Bateman, who predicts expects artificial intelligence will be the harbinger of the end of movies and television as we know it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Artificial intelligence is already reshaping the world’s power centers, from how governments operate to how industry and advocates wield influence. On POLITICO Tech, Penta Group partner Andrea Christianson tells host Steven Overly why the public affairs firm is fully embracing generative AI — and what restrictions it’s had to put in place.   Steven Overly is the host of the POLITICO Tech podcast. ...

Lobbying on AI is booming on K Street, with influencers around Washington selling themselves as AI experts who can help companies navigate how Congress and the Biden administration will tackle the hot topic in town. Hailey Fuchs talks with host Steven Overly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.K. tech secretary Michelle Donelan makes a return visit to POLITICO Tech, this time during a U.S. visit that includes stops in Washington, Seattle and San Francisco. She tells host Steven Overly how the U.S. and U.K. will join forces to combat the risks of artificial intelligence, and offers advice for U.S. policymakers on both AI and online safety. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...

President Biden is slated to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday in San Francisco. It’s their first face-to-face meeting in a year, and comes amid ever-escalating tensions over tech issues like AI and microchips. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly asks Xiaomeng Lu of the Eurasia Group to outline expectations for the meeting -- and whether major resolutions are likely. Learn more...

Google sued on Monday to stop unidentified scammers from using a fake version of its AI chatbot to spread malware. The company sees the case as an example of how it protects consumers. But the liability that Google will assume? That’s another matter. On POLITICO Tech, Google general counsel Halimah DeLaine Prado joins host Steven Overly to talk about AI and legal responsibility. Learn more about y...

In the hours after Hamas waged its deadly Oct. 7th assault on Israel, the country came under a different type of attack: cyber attacks. On POLITICO Tech, Atlantic Council security research fellow Ruslan Trad explains why the barrage of hackers targeting Israel is different from past conflicts -- and what they seem to really want. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s been a lot of attention this week on Arturo Béjar, the latest whistleblower to come forward with concerns about how Meta handles online content aimed at children. He testified before the Senate earlier this week, and he’s been cooperating with investigations brought by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general. On Politico Tech today, he talks with Rebecca Kern and Steven Ov...