Regulate Tech

In this first episode of 2026, Nicklas Berild Lundblad and Richard Allen explore how AI tools are transforming the craft of public policy. Their core argument: if you're regulating technology, you need to understand it firsthand—and the barriers to experimenting have never been lower. 

Get comfortable with the command line. Every operating system has a terminal (Command+Space then "Terminal" on Mac, search "Terminal" on Windows). Pair it with your favorite chatbot for a 30-minute crash course. This direct communication with your computer is foundational for everything else.

Install an IDE. VS Code or PyCharm (both free) provide clean environments to run code. The goal isn't becoming a programmer—it's achieving code readability so you can understand and guide AI-generated code.

Learn Python basics. Twenty hours of investment unlocks a career-long skill set. Focus on reading code, not writing it—LLMs handle the heavy lifting while you become the quality-control human in the loop.

Run local models with Ollama. This free tool lets you download and run LLMs entirely on your machine—no API costs, no data leaving your computer. Start with small models like Tiny Dolphin, then explore Llama or Gemma. Running the same prompt hundreds of times reveals how probabilistic these systems really are.

Explore GitHub. A vast repository of ready-made code. Search for whatever interests you and load it into your IDE.

The bottom line: spend a few days learning these tools and you'll understand AI technology at a level that transforms how you think about regulating it.

In 2026 Regulate Tech returns. Here we go through a few new ideas, where we are in life and what comes next. We also discuss 2025 and 2026 - and share ideas on how the new year will unfold. 

Enjoy!

Participants: Richard Allan, Nicklas Berild Lundblad

In this episode we discuss how we should think about, analyze and understand power in tech policy. We are bad at talking about power because it is such a loaded term - but all politics, and all technology, in some way relates to the exercise of power, so we need to have a working theory of power to make sense of it all! 

Participants: Richard Allan, Nicklas Berild Lundblad

In this episode we discuss the challenges of regulating for what is and what will be - and how to think about artificial intelligence: is it efficiency or innovation? And what should policy makers do? 

Participants: Richard Allan, Nicklas Berild Lundblad

In this episode we discuss how to approach public policy issues at different points in the Gartner hype cycle -- should you lean in to the peak of inflated expectations? Solidly make a home in the trough of disillusionment? Listen in! 

Participants: Richard Allan, Nicklas Berild Lundblad

In this episode we discuss the importance of cyber and information security, why it is hard to draft regulation to make a city safe, the NIS2 and the trade offs involved in security policy overall. 

Participants: Richard Allan, Nicklas Berild Lundblad

How should we think about internet services in a global first world? The answer to that question is shifting fast from launch once, access everywhere to the more complex launch, comply and restrict - and ultimately maybe this has to be solved in a trade framework -- so how will that work? Will we get international standards for platforms? AI? 

Participants: Richard Allan, Nicklas Berild Lundblad

In this episode we discuss the special challenges that policy professionals meet as new governments are coming in, how to work with them - and how to best prepare, and when to simply stand back. What do we do a year before an election? 3 months before? During the first 100 days? 

Participants: Richard Allan, Nicklas Berild Lundblad

It is the OG of tech policy issues -- encryption. And not it is back! How should we manage the requests to create backdoors, disable e2e encryption and where are we headed in this contentious debate? 

Participants: Richard Allan, Nicklas Berild Lundblad

What do you do when the clash between your organization's views and those of a government just is not avoidable anymore? How do you handle redlines? In this episode we discuss the tricky art of confrontation. 

Participants: Richard Allan, Nicklas Berild Lundblad