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 favorite Disney characters on the company's AI products like ChatGPT and Sora.

*Links to articles discussed*

- CES Worst in Show Awards Website
https://www.worstinshowces.com

- ‘Worst in Show’ CES products include AI refrigerators, AI companions and AI doorbells (AP)
https://apnews.com/article/ces-worst-show-ai-0ce7fbc5aff68e8ff6d7b8e6fb7b007d

- “Worst in Show” Returns at CES 2026, Calling Out Gadgets That Make Things Worse (iFixIt)
https://www.ifixit.com/News/115344/worst-in-show-returns-at-ces-2026-calling-out-gadgets-that-make-things-worse

- Trump tries to block state AI laws himself after Congress decided not to (Ars Technica)
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/trump-tries-to-block-state-ai-laws-himself-after-congress-decided-not-to/

- Trump’s AI executive order promises ‘one rulebook’ — startups may get legal limbo instead (TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/12/trumps-ai-executive-order-promises-one-rulebook-startups-may-get-legal-limbo-instead/

- OpenAI is looking for a new Head of Preparedness (TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/28/openai-is-looking-for-a-new-head-of-preparedness/

- Disney invests $1 billion in OpenAI, licenses 200 characters for AI video app Sora (Ars Technica)
https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/12/disney-invests-1-billion-in-openai-licenses-200-characters-for-ai-video-app-sora/

- Disney has accused Google of copyright infringement on a 'massive scale' (Engadget)
https://www.engadget.com/ai/disney-has-accused-google-of-copyright-infringement-on-a-massive-scale-163737642.html

- Extracting books from production language models (arxiv)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.02671

*Panelists*

- Zachary McDowell, Associate Professor, Communication, University of Illinois Chicago
https://comm.uic.edu/profiles/zachary-mcdowell/

- Jeremy Riel (Host), Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology, University of Illinois Chicago & IGPA Science and Technology Working Group Co-Lead
https://education.uic.edu/profiles/riel-jeremy/

- Gagandeep Singh, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign & IGPA Science and Technology Working Group Co-Lead
https://siebelschool.illinois.edu/about/people/faculty/ggnds

- Ken Suh, Adjunct Professor, Law, University of Illinois Chicago
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kensuh

*About The FTP Podcast*

The FTP podcast brings together a panel of interdisciplinary faculty experts across the University of Illinois System to discuss trends and news from recent weeks in tech and policy while looking toward the future. Produced by the Science and Technology Working Group, Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA), University of Illinois System.

https://igpa.uillinois.edu

All opinions expressed on the FTP Podcast are those of the individual panelists and not the opinions of the University of Illinois System, The Institute of Government and Public Affairs, or the three UI universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, or Springfield.