Decoded by POLITICO

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 plans to expand the effort and hurdles to overcome. 

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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 Steven Overly why she thinks venture capital is eating the world… and Washington.

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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 now — and explains why the outcome isn’t great for Republicans if history truly repeats itself.

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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 is missing about DOGE.

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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 potential sticking points.

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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 Steven Overly how she thinks Musk should do things differently.

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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 Huddleston joins host Steven Overly to discuss tension among Republicans over antitrust and dissect some of the early action in Trump’s second term

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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 about Musk’s influence and what the results mean for transatlantic relations.

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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. 

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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 Musk’s businesses. On POLITICO Tech, he tells host Steven Overly what he found.

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