The Decoded Podcast

Spot the robot dog has drawn public backlash for its use by law enforcement. But Robert Playter, the CEO of Spot’s creator, Boston Dynamics, says notions of robots taking over the world are fantasies fueled by fear. On POLITICO Tech, he tells host Steven Overly what the robot future will really look like.

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The doomsday scenarios about AI run amok garner a lot of attention, but would policymakers be better off focusing on its  problems here and now? That’s the case Janet Haven, executive director at Data & Society, makes on today’s POLITICO Tech with host Steven Overly.

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There's an AI  firestorm coming next year — and it won’t be in Washington. Look instead to Sacramento. On POLITICO Tech, California politics reporter Jeremy White tells host Steven Overly about the wave of AI legislation coming to the Golden State.

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Plenty of people have opinions on artificial intelligence -- especially its potential risks and what to do about them. Daniel Colson’s AI Policy Institute has set out  to measure those public attitudes through polls. On POLITICO Tech, Colson tells host Steven Overly that there’s bipartisan fear about AI’s destructive potential and argues those results ought to spur regulators into action.

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Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have criticized the Biden administration’s  digital trade agenda, going so far as to say recent policy decisions are giving China a leg up in the global tech race. On POLITICO Tech, Reps. Darin Lahood (R-Ill.) and Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) argue U.S. trade officials must change course in a conversation with host Steven Overly.

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The big U.N. Climate Change Conference -- COP28 -- is underway in Dubai and the role of emerging technologies in the fight against global warming is likely to be a recurring theme. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly asks Marcene Mitchell of the World Wildlife Fund to expound on the promise and the hype behind these technologies.

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Abortion access has changed dramatically since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. And the landscape for data privacy protections is changing, too. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly examines the current state of privacy concerns over period-tracking apps and other health data with POLITICO reporter Ruth Reader.

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The conventional wisdom is that the U.S. and China are battling it out for AI dominance, and that the US has an upper hand when it comes to developing the technology. On POLITICO Tech, Bill Drexel and Hannah Kelley from the Center for a New American Security tell host Steven Overly that China is ahead in one key area: exporting AI around the world.

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The Federal Election Commission is often politically gridlocked. Now, there’s growing pressure on the agency to consider rules for political ads that contain AI-generated deepfakes. On POLITICO Tech, Democratic FEC Chair Dara Lindenbaum tells host Steven Overly why those calls for action face a bigger obstacle than partisanship.

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was abruptly ousted by the company’s board — until he was brought back days later. The Silicon Valley melodrama revealed tensions over how to manage the future of AI. On POLITICO Tech, host Steven Overly discusses the fallout with Dewey Murdick, executive director at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

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