Politico

As the governments of the West pivot away from regulating the world’s newest technology, the world’s oldest institution wants to step in. In his first official address to cardinals, Pope Leo XIV made curtailing the risks of runaway artificial intelligence a defining mission of his pontificate. The new pope warned of the dangers AI poses to “human dignity, justice and labor.” For the Vatican, AI and technology aren’t just side interests.

Elon Musk’s satellite broadband company Starlink has reaped massive gains since he became “first buddy” to Trump. Numerous countries have cut red tape to approve Starlink this year, some reportedly under pressure from Trump’s State Department.

One of the more puzzling pieces of American tech and diplomatic policy in the new Trump era was the one recently announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio—a new visa restriction for foreign officials “complicit in censoring Americans”. The restriction would ban entry to the U.S. for foreign officials who impose content moderation over social media posts.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump were the main characters on the internet and across Washington day after day. Then the world’s richest man started to fade away. On Truth Social, where Trump is known for sharing his unfiltered thoughts, the president used to mention Musk every few days but now has not posted about him in more than a month. Trump’s fundraising operation has largely ceased sending emails that name-check the Tesla CEO. The billionaire’s name, once a staple of White House briefings, now hardly gets mentioned at all.

For years, the U.S.-Saudi Arabia relationship revolved around oil and defense. But the state visit by President Donald Trump to Riyadh strongly signals a pivot to technology, as the regions find common ground not in petroleum, but in rich wells of investment capital. The visit included an aerial escort by Saudi F-16 planes and a ceremony in the opulent Saudi Royal Court.

The Milken Institute Global Conference gathered top players in business, technology, and politics at a chaotic moment for the global business ecosystem. POLITICO’s Tyler Katzenberger cornered some big names in industry and government to ask them the question on everyone’s mind: What’s the biggest threat to the future for tech?

Key Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee say there’s been headway in recent weeks on reaching an agreement to auction off wireless spectrum, expressing renewed hopes for attaching a telecommunications deal to the party’s massive bill to enact swaths of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda. “There’s progress, we’re almost there,” said Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-MS).