5 things to watch at POLITICO's AI and Tech Summit

As artificial intelligence grips Washington as a policy issue and the Biden administration goes hard after the tech giants, POLITICO’s AI and Tech Summit will tackle the fast collision of government and technology in real time.

Hosted in Washington, D.C., the summit starts Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. EDT.

Guests can still register to attend here. The conference kicks off with an interview with Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, taking the stage in person a day after her agency sued Amazon.

After that, policymakers, tech CEOs and expert panelists will drill into the international race for chip production, how (or whether) Washington will regulate artificial intelligence and the potential for using AI in intelligence-gathering and to mitigate climate change.

Here are five things to watch at the summit:

Antitrust and the tech industry: Khan will sit down with POLITICO for an in-depth discussion of her agency’s efforts to break up monopolies in the tech sector. Beyond this week’s landmark competition suit against Amazon, Khan has tackled antitrust concerns raised by Microsoft and Meta, but with mixed results. The FTC chair will also discuss whether the commission is equipped to tackle AI, and what unique antitrust concerns the fast-moving technology raises.

Which way on AI? Wednesday’s event will feature prominent congressional voices on AI — Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) — and representatives from Google, Scale AI and an official from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. They’ll speak about how to earn public trust in AI systems, and how Congress and the Biden administration should balance innovation with safety as they attempt to regulate this fast-moving segment of the tech industry.

Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), one of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s top lieutenants on AI legislation, will also sit down for a one-on-one with POLITICO to discuss Capitol Hill’s plans for the technology.

AI and national security: The day will also reveal how leading minds in intelligence and cybersecurity are adapting to the global race to deploy AI. In a live taping for the POLITICO Tech podcast, Anne Neuberger — deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology for the Biden administration — will discuss the White House’s effort to establish innovation-friendly relationships with allies while also monitoring the technological progress of U.S. adversaries.

Lakshmi Raman, the Central Intelligence Agency’s director of AI, will dive into the use of the technology for intelligence gathering. And Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril Industries, will discuss how the federal government can link up with the private sector to modernize the Pentagon’s AI arsenal.

High-tech supply chains: Despite last year’s passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, Capitol Hill and the Biden administration remain concerned about the security of America’s high-tech supply chain — particularly in the face of a rising China. Sen. Young, a key architect of CHIPS and Science, will discuss what else Congress should do to boost microchip production and research in the United States. Attendees will also hear from Aaron “Ronnie” Chatterji — until recently the White House coordinator for microchip policy — as well as officials from Intel and Silverado Policy Accelerator.

AI and climate change: The summit will explore the potential for AI systems to supercharge the response to climate change. Attendees will hear from former Biden administration officials and top industry voices — including representatives from IBM, Chemix and Gecko Robotics — about how advanced AI systems can improve climate modeling, reduce energy consumption and otherwise help to cool a fast-warming planet.