Don Beyer

U.S. Congressman Don Beyer returns to Practical AI for another far-reaching conversation with Chris about many of the most important AI challenges facing America and the world.  Blending political savvy and statesmanship with his unique technical understanding as an active Ph.D student in AI at George Mason University (making him the coolest member of Congress!), the congressman shares his perspective about the really hard AI concerns that you would have asked him yourself.  Together, Congressman Beyer and Chris explore AI regulation, cybersecurity concerns sparked by advanced models like Mythos, bipartisan AI governance efforts, and the growing AI race between the U.S. and China. They fearlessly dived headfirst into AI-driven job displacement, mass surveillance, autonomous weapons, existential risk, and the philosophical questions surrounding consciousness and superintelligence as AI continues to accelerate.  This is an unusual and insightful conversation you don't want to miss! Congressman Beyer was previously on Practical AI episode 271 on May 29, 2024: AI in the U.S. Congress Featuring: Congressman Don Beyer – Congress, LinkedIn, Bluesky, X Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Upcoming Events:  Register for upcoming webinars here! Midwest AI Summit 2026

Don Beyer

U.S. Representative

U.S. CongressU.S. House of Representatives

Representative Don Beyer thinks artificial intelligence is “the most amazing technology since fire.” So what does it mean that most of Congress seems not to understand it? Then our colleague David McCabe discusses a bill that could dramatically expand the Biden administration’s power to ban TikTok. Plus: what can the video game character Waluigi tell us about A.I. chatbots gone rogue? On today’s episode: Don Beyer is a U.S. representative for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District. David McCabe is a reporter at The New York Times covering technology policy. Additional reading: Lawmakers are trying to understand the technology behind A.I. The White House is pushing Congress to regulate TikTok. A number of countries are trying to ban TikTok. The Waluigi effect is a theory about why chatbots behave erratically. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Don Beyer

U.S. Representative

U.S. CongressU.S. House of Representatives

David McCabe

Reporter covering technology policy

The New York Times