The best Technology Policy newsletters

Sinocism delivers a near-daily briefing on Chinese politics, economy, trade, technology and foreign policy, with curated items from official and Chinese-language sources plus commentary. It also includes a companion podcast (Sharp China) discussing export controls, GDP data and Party meetings.

Essays from Princeton's AI researchers (including Arvind Narayanan) arguing that AI is a transformative but normal technology rather than a path to superintelligence. Recent issues cover AI agent evaluation methods, whether AI should aim at augmenting rather than automating human labor, and debates over AI safety and existential risk.

Former CHIPS Program Office leaders write about how to design and run government programs, drawing on their experience building CHIPS and Tech Hubs. Issues cover statutory authorities, the case for discretionary grants over tax credits, and data governance for new programs.

Consensus Drift analyzes how government decisions shape the politics and political economy of the digital stack, with recent issues covering AI kill switch legislation, federal influence on frontier model release timing, and European tech sovereignty. Readers get policy-focused analysis grounded in specific bills, executive orders, and international relations scholarship.

Essays on technology, geopolitics and U.S.-China relations, drawing on original research, firsthand travel and policy analysis. Readers get argued positions on AI chips, frontier AI access as a tool of power, and allied strategy in Asia.

Helen Toner's Substack on navigating a world with very advanced AI, covering the vagueness of AGI definitions, AI jaggedness, and the risks of personalized AI. Readers get careful, expert-informed argument about AI capabilities and governance, with occasional guest essays.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt's personal newsletter pairing written pieces with video transcripts on media, technology, creativity, and cautious optimism. Recent issues cover AI liability and regulation, human creativity versus AI, and his work as a UN advocate for human-centric digital governance.

The Renovator is a democracy-reform newsletter by its author, focused on electoral reform such as all-party primaries and on tech accountability and AI governance. Readers get researched arguments, cited evidence and a running roundup of tech and politics headlines.

James Fallows, a veteran reporter, posts dated dispatches on Donald Trump administration events, mostly political and civic controversies around the midterms and DC. The writing is personal and pointed, with timelines and first-hand local perspective, though its strong opinions are openly partisan.

This newsletter from the Center for Humane Technology covers AI risk, the Reykjavik AI summit in Iceland, and the organization's media work and advocacy for slowing the AI race. It pairs podcast episodes and commentary with updates on public pressure and the documentary The AI Doc.

Analysis of technology, policy and strategic infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific, with a focus on China, export controls and elite Party politics. Includes guest essays by Yue Millward alongside the author's own commentary, written for decision makers in government and industry.

High Capacity is a newsletter and podcast by Kyle Chan, a Brookings fellow, examining China's AI policy, technology industry and US-China relations. Issues mix long-form interviews with China policy experts and commentary on AI safety, regulation and geopolitics.

Essays on European sovereignty, industrial strategy and the political economy of technology, written by a Tony Blair Institute policy analyst. Readers get a policy-informed argument on state capacity, state equity stakes in tech firms and the future of the nation state, often framed through history.