Who?
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
Ask a Pol’s ask:
Matt Laslo’s always juggling numerous commissions that sometimes overlap in odd ways. This brief exchange with Cramer is meandering; a conversation, really. Laslo starts asking about the New Hampshire primary before he zeroes in on the Biden deepfake in NH, which then evolves into an AI conversation where Cramer uses crypto as a revealing example…
Key Cramer quote:
“Listen, it's like crypto: When I decide I'm not interested anymore — because I've got 1,400 other priorities — I leave it up to somebody smarter, somebody else.”
TOPICS:
Crypto, AI, deepfakes, New Hampshire primary & VP Tim Scott?
BACKGROUND:
Prof. Laslo has studied deepfakes for years now…
TODAY:
We’re in the midst of the first deepfake election….
FAST FORWARD:
Some lawmakers dismiss AI — and crypto! — out of hand, because they don’t get it, as this exchange with Cramer exemplifies. Buckle up…
Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), slightly edited for clarity.
LISTEN: Laslo & Cramer JUST crypto (snippet)
Laslo & Cramer EXTENDED (exclusive turned scrum….)
*crypto comes up about at about 2mins 10secs
TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Kevin Cramer
SCENE: Laslo starts interviewing Cramer in the basement of the US Capitol, then they ride an elevator to the 2nd floor — so the senator can vote — where Laslo leaves Cramer to his colleagues.
Matt Laslo: “Was the takeaway from all those AI briefings and forums last year like — what was your takeaway from them?”
Kevin Cramer: “I don't know.”
ML: “Right?”
KC: “When I decide to…”
Laslo laughs (externally).
KC: “Listen, it's like crypto: When I decide I'm not interested anymore — because I've got 1,400 other priorities — I leave it up to somebody smarter, somebody else.”
Igor Bobic (HuffPost) then asks Cramer about Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and VP aspirations…?
Matt Laslo covers tech politics for WIRED, lectures on technology’s impact on government at Johns Hopkins and is the founder of Ask a Pol — a new people-powered press corps. On social @MattLaslo // @Ask_a_Pol
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EXCLUSIVE — Sen. Kevin Cramer on crypto: "I leave it up to somebody smarter, somebody else"