Last November, when the artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT
launched, an old science fiction question suddenly became very real: How
long until the machines are smarter than the humans? 

It marked the beginning of a new era in technology – one that has
enormous implications for the economy and the nation’s politics. On the
Hill, members of Congress suddenly needed answers about the coming
disruption. The expert they turned to for those was a video game
developer from Southern California, Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.).

Obernolte is, according to his peers, the guy you need to know on AI. He
has a masters in the field and owns a very successful video game
company. On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, he tells Playbook’s Ryan
Lizza the truth about this powerful new technology and what it means to
Washington, D.C.; from AI’s regulatory forecast to what – if anything –
Congress can do to soften a potential white collar job apocalypse that
its widespread adoption might bring.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Rep. Jay Obernolte is the congressman for California's 23rd district.
Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio.