Decoded by POLITICO

The term “sovereign AI” gets thrown around a lot in tech circles these days, but there’s no one set definition for what it means. Ultimately, it comes down to a race among countries to build and own the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence models. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly interviews Tech Policy Solutions founder Pablo Chavez at the Meridian Summit in Washington, D.C., about the tensions this global competition is creating and what may determine the winner.

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A House task force is expected to roll out a bipartisan wish list for AI regulations by year’s end and Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) is one of the lawmakers shaping that agenda. A physician prior to entering Congress, Bera is particularly focused on questions that AI raises about the future of health care. POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly sat down with Bera on the sidelines of the Meridian Summit to discuss where new rules are needed most and whether the election outcome will impact how Congress acts.

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Arizona was an epicenter for election disinformation four years ago. A hotbed for false claims about election rigging and for politicians who still deny the results. It’s Adrian Fontes’ job to combat that — he’s Arizona’s Democratic secretary of state. Fontes joins POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly to talk about how his office is preparing for Election Day, and why he thinks the long battle against election disinformation will eventually be won.

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Greg Epstein is the humanist chaplain at Harvard and MIT, and he has spent the past several years examining the rising power of tech through the lens of faith. An atheist, Epstein came away with the belief that tech is now “the world’s most powerful religion” — and all of us, its unwitting congregants. On POLITICO Tech, Epstein joins host Steven Overly to talk about his new book, “Tech Agnostic,” and why he sees the need for a tech “reformation.”

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Government internet programs aren’t usually at the center of political attacks. But the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, or BEAD, has become a Republican target amid Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign for president. On POLITICO Tech, Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alan Davidson, who heads the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, joins host Steven Overly to discuss the agency’s latest broadband investments in Florida and Alabama, and to refute GOP critics who say the program is behind schedule.

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The crypto industry is spending millions of dollars this election cycle in a bid to reshape Congress, including pivotal Senate races in Ohio, Michigan and Arizona. But ads the industry is funding focus on issues like the economy, immigration and reproductive freedom — with no mention of crypto. On POLITICO Tech, reporter Jessica Piper joins host Steven Overly to explain why this little industry is spending big, and the tactics it’s using to send more crypto-friendly candidates to Washington.

Steven Overly is the host of POLITICO Tech.

Jessica Piper is a reporter at POLITICO.

Annie Rees is the managing producer for audio at POLITICO.

Afra Abdullah is the producer of POLITICO Tech.

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Over the last month, the Southeastern United States has been hammered by back-to-back hurricanes. But weather aside, experts are pointing to another big storm – the swirl of storm and recovery-related disinformation online. One of the experts tracking all this is Danielle Lee Tomson, who works as the research manager at the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public. She talked to host Steven Overly about how these fake claims are being amplified, and why there’s likely more disinformation coming even if these hurricanes have passed.

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Tech billionaire Elon Musk wants to leverage his starpower to put former President Donald Trump back in the White House. But will Musk’s deep pockets and large online following make a difference in the swing states where Trump needs him most? POLITICO Tech host Steven Overly sits down with national political reporter Alex Isenstadt and Digital Future Daily author Derek Robertson to discuss Musk’s deepening political involvement and whether he can truly turn out the “bro vote” for Trump come Election Day.

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A recent experiment involving two fake political ads tested voter reactions to seeing AI disclaimers — with surprising results. The study’s lead researcher Scott Babwah Brennen, the director of the Center on Technology Policy at NYU, joins Steven Overly to break down the findings.

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Artificial intelligence may not be as smart as humans — at least not yet — but the technology is progressing faster than Aidan Gomez ever imagined. Now, the Cohere CEO says the trick is convincing people and companies to embrace it. On POLITICO Tech, Gomez sits down with host Steven Overly to talk about what that will take and how fast it can happen.

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