Ask a Pol ai

By: Matt Laslo
Listen for free

  • Summary

  • Asking your lawmakers your (generative...) artificial intelligence questions at your US Capitol.

    www.askapolai.com
    Matt Laslo
    Show more Show less
Show more Show less
Episodes
  • Sen. Rounds argues the US should use AI to combat AI deepfakes in the 2024 election

    Sen. Rounds argues the US should use AI to combat AI deepfakes in the 2024 election
    Apr 6 2024
    Who?Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) LISTEN: Laslo & RoundsAsk a Pol asks:When it specifically comes to deepfakes in the 2024 election — anything actionable? Key Rounds: “The thing if we can draw attention to the American public that you’ve got countries outside of the United States that really are trying to influence the elections, and we can use AI to identify what they are and so can the platforms,” Sen. Rounds exclusively told Ask a Pol. “You’ve got to use AI to do it, to detect it in the first place as early as possible.”Caught our ear:“But the second piece is there’s got to be more attention brought to the American public that a huge amount of the information that is being presented right now on social media is intended to influence them with misinformation. And that’s just something that we just have to keep pounding on with the American public,” Rounds says. “They’ve got to discern what is accurate and what might actually be a deepfake.”Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), slightly edited for clarity.TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Mike RoundsMatt Laslo: “You had those AI forums, one of your colleagues said they were, y’know, kind of hosted by Big Tech. ‘Cause his accusation in that he was saying it’s hard to regulate…”ICYMI — Sen. Josh Hawley rips bipartisan AI forums Mike Rounds: “Not hosted, but, y’know, look, we had players that were making a difference in AI. They wanted to share it. And we didn’t limit it to just one type of advisory group. We invited lots of different types that were involved in the advisory groups. So, for us, we just wanted as much information as we can get from all different sources, and these are the sources. And I don’t wanna do things in ignorance, I wanna do things with as much information as possible, and they were providing it. And in some cases, they actually provided, y’know, information from differing perspectives. That was healthy to hear the difference, and we could then flesh out.”ML: “Do you think, when it specifically comes to deepfakes in the 2024 election, is anything actionable? I know there’s a couple of competing bills, but we’re now in the midst of an election.”MR: “You know, we are except, accepting. the thing is, if we can draw attention to the American public that you’ve got countries outside of the United States that really are trying to influence the elections, and we can use AI to identify what they are and so can the platforms. If there’s a way that there’s a comfort level in identifying when you’ve got adversaries that are actually putting misinformation out through, y’know, different sources, but on social media primarily, we can go long ways towards correcting some of it. You’ve got to use AI to do it, to detect it in the first place as early as possible. But the second piece is there’s got to be more attention brought to the American public that a huge amount of the information that is being presented right now on social media is intended to influence them with misinformation. And that’s just something that we just have to keep pounding on with the American public. They’ve got to discern what is accurate and what might actually be a deepfake.”ML: “At this point, instead of a bill addressing it, would it be easier to put in extra funding for DHS [Department of Homeland Security] or…”MR: “Yeah. It’s a part of it. It won’t fix it. But because the platforms themselves have to have a comfort level that there is a recognition that restricting what you know to be false information is defensible. And I think that’s where the challenge is going to be. And it’s the reason why we want, like, the Judiciary Committee to really have a say in it, so that we actually use the expertise they’ve got there to help craft that type of legislation.”Another reporter cuts in with a 2024 election question about Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC). Content posted at AskaPol.com is copyrighted. Use our original content to move the story forward. And, please, link to us. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe Get full access to Ask a Pol ai at www.askapolai.com/subscribe
    Show more Show less
    4 mins
  • Sen. Cramer on AI deepfakes legislation: "people will act according to what’s in their interest"

    Sen. Cramer on AI deepfakes legislation: "people will act according to what’s in their interest"
    Apr 5 2024
    Who?Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)LISTEN: Laslo & Cramer Ask a Pol asks:What was your takeaway from all those AI briefings and forums last year? Key Cramer: “I don’t know,” Cramer tells Ask a Pol. “I’s like crypto. When I decide I’m not interested anymore, ‘cause I’ve got 1,400 other priorities, I leave it up to somebody smarter, somebody else.” Caught our ear on deepfakes “I think there’s plenty of impetus to act. The problem is that people will act according to what’s in their interest, y’know, at the moment,” Cramer says. ICYMI Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), slightly edited for clarity.TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Kevin CramerMatt Laslo: “How are you?”Kevin Cramer: “Hey, I’m good, how are you?”ML: “Does tonight matter at all? New Hampshire? Does New Hampshire[‘s primary] matter?”KC: “Oh, does it matter? Here’s what I’ve always said about New Hampshire and Iowa. And this — it matters less all the time as things get a little bit closer, a little consolidated, right and I’ve got a lot of history with this. Come on in.”Cramer waves Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo onto his elevator. KC: “But it matters in this sense — and it still seems to — and that is it’s a momentum creator.”ML: “Yeah?”KC: “Particularly, if you stack — if Iowa and New Hampshire go the same direction, it makes almost everything else meaningless. And it’s kind of too bad in the sense that this way, in some respects, a national primary makes some sense, the problem then is that little places like New Hampshire and Iowa...”ML: “…are forgotten.”KC: “…their intimate discussions are forgotten. And so that’s the beauty of it. The downside of it is it can create momentum that prevents something else, maybe, from happening. So that’s — so yeah, it matters in that sense.”ML: “But now with [Florida Governor Ron] DeSantis out, this doesn’t feel like much of a race?”Both laugh. KC: “Well, that’s because one guy’s run away with it, and he’s earned it, y’know.”ML: “Have you seen the deepfakes that were deployed?”KC: “The what?”ML: “Have you seen the deepfakes that were deployed? Like using President Biden’s voice?”ICYMI KC: “I heard about it this morning on one of the shows when I was working out. It was one of the — I have the three TVs going on, and they’re all different channels.”Sen. Cramer laughs. ML: “Because last January I was asking each of you US senators about this, and you were like, ‘What?’ We’re now in the midst of Election 2024…”KC: “Oh, for sure, we are.”ML: “…and we’re gonna see deepfakes deployed like we’ve never seen before.”KC: “Right, probably.”ML: “Like, is there any impetus to act?”KC: “Well, I think there’s plenty of impetus to act. The problem is that people will act according to what’s in their interest, y’know, at the moment. So is there a broader impetus to act? You know, I don’t think any of this stuff is — I don’t think anybody likes it, to the degree they can stop it. Y’know, I often wonder how many deepfakes are prevented for each one that gets through. Sorta like any type of a cyber situation, until you can stop them all, y’know, you probably have to counter them with ‘That’s a deep — that’s a fake.’”ML: “Was the takeaway from all those AI briefings and forums last year — what was your takeaway from them?”KC: “I don’t know.”ML: “Right?”Laslo laughs. KC: “When I decide — listen, it’s like crypto. When I decide I’m not interested anymore, ‘cause I’ve got 1,400 other priorities, I leave it up to somebody smarter, somebody else.”ML: “Yeah. Sweet. ‘Preciate you.”Transcript stops, but audio continues of another reporter asking about 2024 vice Presidnetial politics. Content posted at AskaPol.com is copyrighted. Use our original content to move the story forward. And, please, link to us. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe Get full access to Ask a Pol ai at www.askapolai.com/subscribe
    Show more Show less
    4 mins
  • Sen. Cantwell on slowing down House TikTok bill: "we are trying something a little more robust & long-term" on data privacy

    Sen. Cantwell on slowing down House TikTok bill: "we are trying something a little more robust & long-term" on data privacy
    Apr 4 2024
    Who?Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) — Chair, Senate Commerce Committee Ask a Pol askedIs it frustrating that the only serious data privacy conversation we have on Capitol Hill in the past decade or so is on this rushed TikTok measure?Key Cantwell “Oh, I don’t know,” Cantwell replied. “I don’t think it’s the only…” “To hit the floor.” “Oh you’re saying…”“To hit the floor.”“I think the information age — with AI, ChatGPT coming around — everybody’s like, ‘Well, what’s in an algorithm? And what’s it doing?’ And we want to know that too. We want to stop that. Meaning, discrimination, distillers or anything that’s hurting US citizens or the US military,” Cantwell said. “That’s why we wrote the GUARD Act in the NDAA. But, you know, agencies have had different views and some people like certain agency approaches over others and so, you know, these guys got this done so, yeah, it’s something to consider, figuring out how to get a robust tool in the hands of our — to help protect US citizens.”Background: See Ask a Pol founder Matt Laslo’s past data privacy coverage for WIRED mag. Caught our ear “We do want to minimize more data collection. We don’t want people to do deleterious things with it,” Cantwell said. “We want to have as robust a system as we can.”Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s interview with Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), slightly edited for clarity.LISTEN: Cantwell scrum TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Maria CantwellSCENE: Before she can pop up a senator’s only staircase on her way to vote on the Senate floor, Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo spots Cantwell and then three tech reporters descend on her for an impromptu press coMatt Laslo: And how’s this young lady?Reporter 1: How are ya?Maria Cantwell: Good. How are you all?Reporter 1: What is your view of the TikTok bill at this point?MC: We’re talking, you know, we had the GUARD Act which we were trying to — we tried to get that on the DOD [Department of Defense] bill before, and so now we’re just talking to all our colleagues over on the committee and then in leadership about what they want to do. Reporter 1: Some have said, you know, you’ve had former aides that are now lobbying for TikTok maybe…MC: I didn’t even know that. Laughter. Matt Laslo: Are you skeptical of the House proposal?MC: We want something that’s constitutional, that could do the job. We want a larger privacy bill. We want to fight and minimize data. Like so, we want, you know, we want a robust approach so. And, I think they have parts of that in there but, I think, we want to hear from people about making it, you know, very effective. ML: From that, it sounds like you don’t think it’s constitutional? It sounds like you don’t think it’s constitutional.MC: I want to hear from people. We haven’t heard from everybody. We were…ML: But you’re not decided?MC: We were previously working with DOJ [Department of Justice], so that’s why we want to understand this. But, I think, the line they keep saying is ‘it needs improvement’. And I’m like, ‘What does that mean?’Reporter 2: If you were a House member would you have been a ‘No’ yesterday?MC: I don’t know. I would’ve probably spent the time before and made a decision.Reporter 1: Does this strong vote over there affect your thinking at all?MC: You want people to be engaged. But, the dilemma, you know, like with the Trump’s executive order, you want something that is gonna get sustained so that you can use the tool. ’Cause we do want to minimize more data collection. We don’t want people to do deleterious things with it. We want to have as robust a system as we can. The GUARD Act included a bunch of other stuff, including hardware and other tools that would give us, you know, the overall effort. So we’re gonna, we’re gonna look at it. We’ve just been so busy, we just didn’t have a chance to…Reporter 2: Would you mark up the GUARD Act? Would you mark that up?MC: Yeah, we could. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, if you could take the House bill and have them kind of debate that…MC: Oh I’m sorry, I’m sorry, sorry. We could do either. Right, we could do either. We could take the House bill up or we could take something else. You know I’m going to talk to Mark [Warner] and the Intel. guys, because I think they want to go back and think about their bill. So this has just kicked off a lot of discussion. Reporter 1: Have you talked to [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer at all since the passing? MC: No. No.ML: Is it frustrating that the only serious data privacy conversation we have on the Hill, in the past decade or whatever, is on this rushed TikTok measure?MC: Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think it’s the only, but…ML: To hit the floor. MC: Oh you’re saying…ML: To hit the floor.MC: I think the information age — with AI, ChatGPT coming around — everybody’s like, ‘Well, what’s in an algorithm? And ...
    Show more Show less
    4 mins

What listeners say about Ask a Pol ai

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com reviews

Amazon reviews
No Reviews are Available