POLITICO Tech

The relationship between Washington and the tech industry has gone through no shortage of ups and downs over the years, but things were all smiles earlier this week at an AI expo hosted by the Special Competitive Studies Project. The CEO of that group, Ylli Bajraktari, talked to host Steven Overly about the Washington-Silicon Valley divide and why collaboration between industry and government is the only way he sees the U.S. beating China on AI.

CNN contributor and Dream Machine founder Van Jones met NobleReach Foundation CEO Arun Gupta at a tech festival. It turned out they’re both AI optimists, and think all the doom and gloom about the technology belies its larger benefits. On a live taping of POLITICO Tech, they join host Steven Overly to make the case for more communities to embrace — not fear — AI and for tech workers to enter public service.

TikTok has long faced criticism for suspected ties to the Chinese government. But since the start of the war, U.S. officials have also accused the app of amplifying posts that are sympathetic to Hamas and damaging to Israel. But data from the app tells a more complex story. POLITICO reporter Mark Scott worked with Northeastern University researcher Laura Edelson to analyze some 350,000 TikTok posts about the war, and on today’s show, Mark explains their findings to host Steven Overly — and what the analysis reveals about TikTok’s response to a growing political crisis.

Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda says AI is transforming education -- both how it’s delivered and what people are studying. On today's Politico Tech, Jeff’s case to host Steven Overly for why higher education needs an AI overhaul, and how he uses AI to help decide Coursera’s business strategy.

There’s a legal battle brewing between TikTok and the federal government. But how anxious are US companies about losing one of the newest and frankly most exciting social media outlets in years? Rachel Karten had that question, too. She’s a social media consultant for brands like Cava and West Elm, and author of a Substack called Link in Bio, a newsletter about the business of social media. She spoke with host Steven Overly to talk about what she's hearing from brands and what losing TikTok could mean for online culture and commerce.

Right now, there’s probably a political candidate in your inbox asking for donations. Online fundraising has taken off in recent election cycles, and it’s now how many Washington hopefuls raise big bucks. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Jessica Piper joins host Steven Overly to talk about how digital platforms have changed the fundraising game.

Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark says building a safe AI model — named Claude — will differentiate the company from its competitors. And he’s in Washington pushing for safety testing and product standards. Will that ultimately help established companies like his? He joined host Steven Overly to discuss.

Jacob Helberg was influential in pushing for the law that forces the sale of TikTok. Now, he wants Congress to prepare for a future conflict with China, one that has artificial intelligence at the center. Helberg, who is a senior policy adviser at Palantir Technologies and sits on the congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, joins host Steven Overly to talk about the next frontier in U.S. tech competition with China.

States are considering a slew of bills to regulate artificial intelligence, including whether companies must disclose that they’re using the technology to make decisions in areas like employment and housing. Consumer Reports policy analyst Grace Gedye joins POLITICO Tech to discuss loopholes that the advocacy group argues state lawmakers must close before passing new laws.

In 1952, TV news producers needed an edge on election night. And they found it in new "fearsome contraptions" called computers. On POLITICO Tech, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ira Chinoy joins host Steven Overly to talk about his new book, “Predicting the Winner: The Untold Story of Election Night 1952 and the Dawn of Computer Forecasting.” They go inside that pivotal election night, and what it tells us about political journalism and technology today.

Washington’s fascination with AI has permeated its social life — from salon dinners to embassy receptions to networking nights. That includes festivities surrounding this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. On POLITICO Tech, media maven Tammy Haddad joins host Steven Overly to talk about her Washington AI Network and how AI is shaping D.C.’s social scene.

Micron Technology is getting $6.14 billion from the Biden administration to build microchip facilities in the U.S., becoming the fourth and final maker of leading-edge semiconductors to get government subsidies. On POLITICO Tech, Michael Schmidt, the director of the Commerce Department’s CHIPS Program Office, breaks down the deals and explains what comes next.

The Federal Communications Commission will vote tomorrow to re-impose net neutrality, controversial regulations that require internet service providers to treat all websites equally. Ajit Pai is the former Republican FCC chair who took them away back in 2017. And he joins POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly to challenge Democrats’ reasons for bringing the rules back -- even as he says most Americans have moved on.

All eyes are on the Senate this week, where lawmakers are taking up a bill that forces TikTok to find a new owner. Now, Congress can be an unpredictable place. But things have never looked worse for the popular app. So, what happens next? It seems clear that TikTok would take the U.S. government to court, likely arguing that forcing a sale, and potentially imposing a ban, violates the constitutional rights of TikTok’s investors and users. Right now, TikTok is locked in a lawsuit with the state of Montana over a ban passed last year. On today's Politico Tech, Steven Overly talks with Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, the man at the center of the state's proposed ban, about what he expects from TikTok’s coming legal fight.

The United Arab Emirates has produced some of the world’s biggest open-source AI models. And that was before Microsoft put big money into one of its AI companies last week — part of the U.S. effort to pull the Gulf nation away from China’s influence. At an Atlantic Council event, the country’s AI minister, His Excellency Omar Al Olama, spoke with host Steven Overly about AI alliances, global rulemaking and more.

Officials from the Chinese embassy have been making the rounds on Capitol Hill as U.S. lawmakers weigh a forced sale of the video-sharing app TikTok. Reporter Hailey Fuchs joins POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly to explain what happened inside the meetings and how they could complicate TikTok’s own lobbying efforts.

Our language is fundamental to our cultural identity. And many European countries worry artificial intelligence will erase those languages and the cultures that come with them. But could those fears really be code for falling behind in the AI race? POLITICO reporter Gian Volpicelli joins host Steven Overly to discuss.

The Federal Communications Commission will vote next week to restore regulations that require internet service providers to treat websites equally, otherwise known as net neutrality. Tom Wheeler was the chair of the FCC the last time those rules were put in place. He joins POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly to talk about how artificial intelligence gives new life to this old policy battle.

The future of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act now lies in the Senate, following a contentious path to reauthorization in the House last week. Behind the scenes, the Biden administration has been pressing both chambers to extend the law -- and successfully pushing back on some proposed reforms. On POLITICO Tech, National Security Council legal adviser Joshua Geltzer defends the need for government spy programs amid simmering global conflicts.

Today, we’re talking taxes. Stanford law professor Dan Ho has been working with the IRS to figure out how machine learning and artificial intelligence can improve the agency -- including a study he led last year that found evidence of racial bias in its audits. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly talks with Ho about using AI to root our human bias, and how the technology is changing up Tax Day.