POLITICO Tech

President Donald Trump has many  U.S. allies on edge, but you wouldn’t know it from talking to Peter Kyle, the UK’s secretary of state for science, innovation and technology. He’s a relentless believer that the UK and U.S. will join forces on artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies. But his rosy vision faces real obstacles, like the Trump administration’s criticism of the UK’s...

Silicon Valley’s bet that a Trump administration would be friendly to tech has a big payoff: Vice President JD Vance. At the American Dynamism Summit this week, Vance spoke at length about bolstering U.S. innovation and manufacturing, and bridging the divide between so-called “populists” and “techno-optimists.” The summit was hosted by venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz, which became the tech...

This Elon Musk-made moment of government upheaval has some business executives seeing dollar signs, and that includes Matt Calkins, the CEO of software company Appian. Calkins contends there are billions of dollars to be saved in how the government buys stuff, but reforming that process requires “the most powerful digital worker ever invented” — artificial intelligence. On POLITICO Tech, Calkins t...

François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry, says America’s northern neighbor is “not like some small country that you can push around.” That’s why Champagne is in Washington today with other Canadian officials seeking an economic reset after a week of tariff-fueled tensions with the U.S. On POLITICO Tech, Champagne joins host Steven Overly to discuss Preside...

Nick Viall became famous after appearing on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette — but used podcasting to turn reality TV stardom into lasting relevance. So last week, YouTube brought The Viall Files host to Washington to teach political staffers how to tap online creators to spread their message. Coming off of last year’s “podcast election,” Viall says the medium has gained new levels of media credi...

This week, President Donald Trump put tariffs in place — again. He then walked most of them back — again. The administration’s erratic trade policy is also causing a great deal of anxiety in California, where the state budget depends on ample tax revenue from the tech industry. On POLITICO Tech, California tech reporter Chase DiFeliciantonio joins host Steven Overly to explain why lawmakers and ec...

Three Army brigades have been trying to prove that the future of war can be cheaper — even before Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency came in demanding budget cuts. The brigades are part of a program that outfits soldiers with off-the-shelf tech that doesn’t take years to build or cost billions of dollars to buy. On POLITICO Tech, Gen. Randy George, the Army’s chief of staff, discusses...

It’s been said that software is “eating the world.” But Catherine Bracy, the founder and CEO of TechEquity, says tech investors are actually reshaping the economy. And she explains why that’s a problem in a new book, “World Eaters: How Venture Capital is Cannibalizing the Economy.” But the influence of venture capital now reaches into our politics and government. On POLITICO Tech, Bracy tells host...

Joshua Zeitz is a historian and best-selling author who thinks America is living through a second Gilded Age. A period that is reminiscent of the late 1800s, when railroad and banking magnates held enormous sway over the economy and government. Except today, those moguls build social media sites and rocketships and electric vehicles. On POLITICO Tech, Zeitz outlines the parallels between then and...

Anne Marshall resigned from her role as director of engineering and data science at the U.S. Digital Service last month. The decision followed staffing cuts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. “This is not the mission I came to serve,” Marshall wrote on LinkedIn at the time. On POLITICO Tech, Marshall tells host Steven Overly about her decision to leave and what she thinks everyone...

The U.S. and UK will negotiate “a new economic deal with advanced technology at its core,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday at the White House. The details of the arrangement remain an open question, but President Donald Trump added it could get done quickly. On POLITICO Tech, London-based trade and technology deputy editor Joseph Bambridge joins host Steven Overly to talk about pot...

Ann Lewis has seen the government waste a lot of money on bad technology. As director of Technology Transformation Services under President Joe Biden, her office was tasked with revamping and updating government technology. Lewis says there’s a version of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency that could have been bipartisan (and less controversial). On POLITICO Tech, Lewis tells host Ste...

Big Tech is hoping President Donald Trump will lighten up on antitrust enforcement after four years of heavy scrutiny under the Biden administration. But so far, there are few signs of a change. In fact, recent policy announcements from the Federal Trade Commission suggest internet and social media platforms will remain under the microscope. On POLITICO Tech, Cato Institute senior fellow Jennifer...

The most striking outcome of this weekend’s German election wasn’t the actual winner. It’s that one in five voters backed the far-right party, Alternative for Germany. Elon Musk heavily promoted the AfD in the lead up to Election Day, and the party leaned on AI-generated content to amplify its nationalist message. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly chats with reporter Emily Schultheis in Berlin...

Since taking office last month, President Donald Trump has been driving the tech agenda in Washington. Now, Congress is slowly starting to get back in the game. But the politics around Big Tech are shifting — and some once-vocal critics are softening up. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Anthony Adragna gives host Steven Overly the download on what’s happening on Capitol Hill.  Learn more about your ad c...

Elon Musk’s army of government reformers are making sweeping cuts across federal agencies, and the changes often start with getting ahold of the data. That has raised questions and legal complaints about whether the Department of Government Efficiency is mishandling all the sensitive data it’s now accessing. POLITICO reporter Adam Wren wanted to find out whether the data could be funneled into Mus...

When it comes to online political culture, few personalities are as influential as Joe Rogan, host of the popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast. And if you tune into the show these days, Rogan is a breathless defender of Elon Musk and his controversial role reshaping government. POLITICO’s Calder McHugh reports that’s driving away some of Rogan’s long-time listeners — the fans who made him so impac...

The Senate confirmed Howard Lutnick as the next commerce secretary, meaning the former Wall Street CEO will soon be shaping President Donald Trump’s second-term tech agenda. During Trump’s first stint in the White House, Satya Thallam was a senior counselor in the Office of Management and Budget. And he’s now shaping tech policy through roles at Americans for Responsible Innovation and the Foundat...

President Donald Trump’s nominees are trudging through the Senate confirmation process, including Gail Slater, his pick to lead the Justice Department’s antitrust division. Slater is a well-known entity in Washington tech circles. But she could soon have a pivotal role in shaping Trump’s antitrust response to tech’s market power — a sore spot for the industry’s big players. On POLITICO Tech, repor...

Vice President JD Vance laid out an “America First” vision for artificial intelligence at the AI Action Summit in Paris earlier this week. He told world leaders and tech executives that the Trump administration will focus on building AI, not “handwringing” over safety. And he warned Europe and China not to stand in the way of U.S. tech dominance. Alondra Nelson, a professor who co-authored Preside...

We’ve talked a lot lately about tech leaders cozying up to President Donald Trump. Well, Democrats are now fighting to reclaim their place as the party of Silicon Valley elites. Or at least, trying to stop more rich tech dudes from drifting to the right. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly talks with national political reporter Elena Schneider about House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries trying...

Samantha Radocchia, known more widely as Sam Rad, is an anthropologist and tech entrepreneur who thinks a lot about the future, and has advised organizations like the United Nations and Federal Reserve on how to prepare for it. Society is moving toward a decentralized “operating system,” she says, one that will scramble existing institutions of power. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly talks wit...

As Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency pursue sweeping cuts across federal agencies, the Trump administration is also scaling back efforts to confront election disinformation. Several officials in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a political target of Republicans since the 2020 election, were recently put on leave. On POLITICO Tech, cybersecurity reporter Mag...

World leaders and tech luminaries will be flocking to Paris in the days ahead for the AI Action Summit. These global gatherings started over a year ago, but since then, the international AI agenda has shifted dramatically. The focus on mitigating the technology’s risks is now all about rolling it out fast. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly talks to AI pioneer and professor Yoshua Bengio about t...

President Donald Trump may have hit pause on tariffs against Mexico and Canada, but his trade penalties on China are still in place. That includes a 10 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports, including consumer electronics and other tech products. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly talks to Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, about the implications f...