The Future Tech & Policy (FTP) Podcast features a panel of interdisciplinary faculty experts from the 3 universities at the University of Illinois System that examines news, trends, and issues related to emerging technology like AI, quantum, energy, and future-looking computing and how these advancements influence policy and regulation in Illinois and beyond. A production of the Science and Technology Working Group at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA).
Episodes released bi-weekly.
Hosted by Jeremy Riel, Science & Technology Working Group Co-Lead and Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Chicago. Regular panelists are faculty members of the IGPA Science and Technology Working Group (https://igpa.uillinois.edu/working-groups/science-and-technology).
Ep. 13 - Considering Machines That Can Do Everything...And Solve Every Math Problem!
In this first episode of Season 2 for academic year 2026-2027, the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) panel discusses a lot of news from over the summer since the show took summer off for break! The group first considers the implications of some of the claims coming from the frontier AI companies that development needs to slow down amid growing functionality and capabilities of AI models, as well as the competition among AI companies for model superiority and possible claims of large-scale harm t...
9 Jun 2026
Ep. 12 - New IL AI Reporting Regulations, Sycophantic Chatbots, and The AI Pausing Cycle
In this episode of the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) Podcast, the panel discusses new legislation passed in Illinois (SB 315) on AI transparency and auditing and what useful information audits and reporting might include for different stakeholders. We also discuss the recent overflow of AI-generated content and sycophantic behavior, as well as Anthropic's recent call to slow down advanced AI development amid the world's quest to achieve AGI. Links to articles discussed - Illinois Legisla...
28 May 2026
Ep. 11 - AI & The Pope, Google's New Search Interface, and Data Management in Research
In this episode of the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) Podcast, the panel discusses the new encyclical by Pope Leo entitled "Magnifica Humanitas", which represents the Vatican's look at AI and its relationship to humanity and is being widely discussed in policy circles. We also explore the recent changes to Google's primary search results to be more of an AI-results-first approach, and the implications of that on search, discovery, and advertising. Finally, we examine recent changes to data ma...
12 May 2026
Ep. 10 - Reconsidering Your AI Notetaker, Evaluating Science Pipelines, & Cybersecurity is Back!
In this episode of the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) Podcast, the panel weighs the pros and cons of AI notetaking apps and digital meeting transcriptions, reminding us that not everything needs to be written down! Additionally, the panel chats about both the legal and academic scholarship pipeline and what happens when papers get retracted in the modern day, as well as some recent headlines that require us to keep cybersecurity at the top of our minds. Links to articles discussed - All th...
29 Apr 2026
Ep. 9 - "Practicing" a Profession in the AI Age, Disappearing AI Apps, & Right to Repair
In this episode of the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) Podcast, the panel discusses a recent court case in Oregon where a judge ordered an attorney pay attorney fees because of their use of an AI to write briefs, leading us to ask questions about what it means to practice a profession in the AI age. We also unpack the flash-in-the-pan Sora app by OpenAI and discuss what happens when your favorite AI app changes or goes away, as well as the right to repair debate and latest news in that space. ...
14 Apr 2026
Ep. 8 - Mythical AI Models, The Web Never Forgets, & AI Due Diligence
In this episode of the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) Podcast, the panel chats about the newest secret AI models from Anthropic and OpenAI that are rumored to be so powerful that they need to be kept under lock and key, Anthropic's foray into the memory of the internet with the accidental leak of the Claude Code source, and proposed AI legislation in Illinois aimed to increase safety and disclosure of AI model protocols and limit liability on AI companies in extreme, unanticipated cases if th...
19 Mar 2026
Ep. 7 - AI Agents and Crustacean-Themed Apps, Geo Data for AI Training, and End-to-End Encryption
In this episode of the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) Podcast, we explore more into the recent (and sudden) AI agent craze through OpenClaw and other tools and Zach shares lessons learned from his own OpenClaw experiments. We also look at the recent changes to Instagram's use of end-to-end encryption in direct messaging between users, and the use of fine-grained geographic data generated by players in the widely used Pokémon Go game. Links to articles discussed - Meta just bought the soci...
18 Feb 2026
Ep. 6 - Making Sense of Moltbook, Enjoying Robot Dancers, Wowed by AI Board Game Archaeologists, & The AI Policy Atlas
In this episode of the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) Podcast, we make sense of the Moltbook and Openclaw AI agent craze, in which we ask why (even for fun) agents need their own social network? The panel also takes a look at rentable humans by AI agents, AI board game archaeology unlocking the rules to an ancient Roman board game, us being wowed by the live robotics performances during the Chinese New Year Gala, and the recently released AI Policy Atlas by the IGPA Science & Technology W...
27 Jan 2026
Ep. 5 - Wikipedia's "Don't Write Like AI" Enables AI Writing, AI is Always "Disrupting", and Age Verification Methods
In this episode of the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) Podcast, the panel explores the Wikipedia community guidelines on spotting AI-written works to help with the editorial process only to have that set of guidelines used in a new plugin to make AI write less like AI, fake citations in AI papers (written by AI) and court cases, claims of disruption in jobs and the economy from AI leaders and how tech always promises different disruptions than we tend to actually see, and age verification tech...
13 Jan 2026
Ep.4 - CES AI Products and E-Waste, Who Regulates AI?, Chief AI Preparedness Officers, and Licensed AI Characters
In this episode of the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) Podcast, the panel returns from winter break with a look at the light-hearted "Worst In Show" awards for products from the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the US Executive Order toward federal AI regulation preemption over state laws, the new "Head of Preparedness" officer being hired by OpenAI to investigate risks and challenges with their models, and the recent licensing agreement between Disney and OpenAI to use everyone's favor...
9 Dec 2025
Ep. 3 - FTP Podcast - Forgetting Passwords, Genesis Mission, Gov AI Tech Registries, Children AI Facial Recognition, Bot Sentience
In this episode of the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) Podcast, the panel discusses some interesting cases for forgotten passwords and cybersecurity, the US Executive Order on the new Genesis Mission for AI research infrastructure via the NAIRR program and high-performance computing resources, Canada's new AI Register that inventories AI technologies being used by the Canadian federal government, the potential use of AI facial recognition technology with children who play the game Roblox, and ...
25 Nov 2025
Ep. 2 - FTP: Future Tech & Policy Podcast - AI Regulation Debates, Teddy Bear Bots, and Insuring AI
In this episode of the Future Tech & Policy (FTP) Podcast, the panel discusses the recent federal and state debates regarding AI regulation and who should be responsible for AI policy, AI-infused toys and teddy bears and their recent safety testing results, and how AI products and initiatives might be insured. Links to articles discussed Here’s the Trump executive order that would ban state AI laws (The Verge)Trump administration might not fight state AI regulations after all (TechCru...
18 Nov 2025
FTP Episode 1 - New Podcast! Sora, AI Pilot Projects, OpenAI Chat Logs, Tilly Norwood
In this inaugural episode of the FTP Podcast, panelists discuss AI-related news from recent weeks, as AI continues to present imaginative use cases and potential policy questions. Topics include the release of the Sora AI-generated video social networking app for Android, a report on pilot projects and startups having a high rate of failure, a recent court decision requiring chat logs from OpenAI to be turned over for discovery in a case, and the newest non-human Hollywood star Tilly Norwood ...
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