Summary4 min read

The Daily Scoop Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Clearview AI is building a deepfake detection tool; Trump administration plans expansion of U.S. quantum strategy
Date: September 23, 2025
Host: Billy Mitchell

Episode Overview

This episode of The Daily Scoop Podcast covers two significant developments shaping the intersection of government and technology leadership:

Clearview AI’s development of a deepfake detection tool in response to the growing challenge of AI-generated synthetic media.
The Trump administration's plans to expand the U.S. quantum strategy, with steps considered to accelerate the nation’s transition to quantum-safe cryptography and bolster global tech leadership.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Clearview AI Confronts Deepfakes

[00:09–03:53]

Problem Addressed: Clearview AI, known for its expansive facial recognition database built by scraping publicly available internet images, is working on technologies to counter emerging challenges from AI-generated faces ("deepfakes").
New Tool in Development:
- Hal Lambert, the newly appointed co-CEO, announced the company is developing a detection tool designed to tag potentially AI-generated images.
- Target users include federal law enforcement and other government agencies.
- The tool aims to be ready for customers by the end of 2025.
Background Context:
- Clearview has amassed billions of images, serving clients such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the government of Ukraine.
- Its system is already in use for victim identification and law enforcement investigations.
- The company highlights strong facial recognition rankings from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Deepfake Challenges:
- The proliferation of generative AI tools (e.g., OpenAI, Google) has made it harder to maintain accurate facial databases.
- According to Lambert:
  
  “Right now, deep fakes or images that are edited or enhanced with artificial intelligence haven't been a major problem for the company.” (Hal Lambert, [02:53])
Privacy and Civil Liberty Criticisms:
- Organizations like the ACLU and EPIC and various lawmakers remain concerned about privacy threats, with calls to restrict federal agency adoption.
- Lambert's response to concerns of live surveillance integration:
  
  “There was no way for law enforcement agencies to hook the tool up to a live surveillance feed and that it's simply public data that's used in the database.” (Hal Lambert, [03:38])

2. Trump Administration’s Quantum Computing Push

[03:53–05:25]

Policy Momentum:
- Signals from the administration and U.S. industry suggest forthcoming actions to enhance national quantum computing capabilities.
- These could include one or more executive orders, a comprehensive national quantum plan, and directives for federal agencies to accelerate post-quantum security adoption timelines.
Potential Changes:
- A key proposal: moving up the federal deadline for migration to post-quantum cryptographic protections from 2035 to 2030.
- The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Department of Commerce are central to the initiative.
- Commerce Deputy Secretary Paul Dabar is pinpointed as a significant driver of the strategy.
Industry Conversations:
- A top quantum executive (anonymous) conveyed:
  
  "Everyone in the quantum industry, from a policy standpoint, has been told some variation of the message that the White House wants to do for Quantum what they did for AI in July." ([04:56])
Urgency and Scope:
- While quantum computing’s threat to classical encryption is not yet fully realized, federal planning has been underway for years.
- Former Department of Homeland Security officials confirm senior OSTP and Office of Management and Budget officials are “particularly aggressive” in pushing forward.
Potential Timeline:
- Official announcements could emerge within weeks, but there is caution that the process may extend over several months.

Notable Quotes & Moments

Clearview’s situation and stance on privacy:

“There was no way for law enforcement agencies to hook the tool up to a live surveillance feed and that it's simply public data that's used in the database.”
— Hal Lambert, Clearview AI co-CEO ([03:38])
Quantum strategy acceleration:

"Everyone in the quantum industry, from a policy standpoint, has been told some variation of the message that the White House wants to do for Quantum what they did for AI in July."
— Anonymous quantum industry executive ([04:56])

Timestamps for Important Segments

[00:09] – Clearview AI deepfake detection tool overview
[01:12] – Federal law enforcement and Clearview’s customer base
[02:53] – Hal Lambert on deepfakes’ current impact
[03:38] – Lambert’s response to privacy integration concerns
[03:53] – Introduction to Trump administration’s quantum push
[04:56] – Anonymous executive’s perspective on White House quantum policy
[05:25] – End of main content

Tone & Language

Billy Mitchell adopts a clear, factual, and forward-looking tone throughout the episode, providing concise summaries and referencing direct statements from key figures and sources.

Summary prepared for listeners seeking a comprehensive yet accessible overview of September 23rd’s top federal technology headlines.

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Transcript2 lines

[00:00]
A
Today on the Daily Scoop podcast from the Scoop News Group, Clearview AI is building a deepfake detection tool and the Trump administration is planning an expansion of its US quantum strategy. It's Tuesday, September 23, 2025. Welcome to the Daily Scoop Podcast where you'll hear the latest news and trends facing government leaders. I'm the host of the Daily Scoop Podcast, Billy Mitchell. Thanks so much for joining me. Now let's dive into the day's top headlines. Clearview AI, the facial recognition company that scrapes the Internet for images of people's faces for its database, is building a tool to deal with an emerging problem. AI generated faces in comments to Fed Scoop, Hal Lambert, the company's co CEO, said Clearview AI is dealing with the problem by building a new tool for detecting these manipulated images for its customers manufacturing, many of whom are federal law enforcement agencies. Lambert was named co CEO of the company earlier this year after the company board voted to replace its original top executive. Clearview AI has collected billions of images from the Internet, including from social media accounts that are set to public, according to the company. The company has also created a database of those images and made it available to a wide range of customers, including U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement, the government of Ukraine and law enforcement officials that seek to identify victims of child pornography. Clearview AI has also sold the tool to police departments. The company touts its facial recognition efficacy scores from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. However, deepfakes could make building tools like Clearview AI's more complicated. Right now, deep fakes or images that are edited or enhanced with artificial intelligence haven't been a major problem for the company, Lambert told FedScoop. Still, the company is developing a tool that is supposed to tag images that might be AI generated, with the goal of having it ready for customers by the end of the year. Deepfakes have proliferated since generative artificial intelligence tools were widely released by companies like OpenAI and Google, and they present a challenge to companies that aim to train facial recognition models on the Internet or build an accurate database of identities based on images available publicly online. Privacy and civil liberty advocates have long standing concerns with Clearview AI, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Lawmakers have also made the case that Clearview AI's approach could endanger people's privacy and ask federal agencies to stop using the tool. Lambert, however, claimed that there was no way for law enforcement agencies to hook the tool up to a live surveillance feed and that it's simply public data that's used in the database. Now moving on to other news, the Trump administration is signaling to industry and its allies that it's considering a broader set of actions related to quantum computing, both to improve the nation's capacity to defend against future quantum enabled hacks and ensure the United States promotes and maintains global dominance around a key national security technology. The discussions include potentially taking significant executive action, such as one or more executive orders, a national plan similar to the AI Action Plan issued earlier this year, and a possible mandate for federal agencies to move up their timelines for migrating to post quantum protections, multiple sources told cyberscoop. None of those sources that spoke with cyberscoop could provide a definitive timeline for an official rollout, but multiple executives in the quantum computing industry and former national security officials said the White House has signaled serious interest in taking bolder action to promote and shape the development of the technology. Some felt official announcements could come as soon as this week, while others cautioned the process could stretch into the coming months. While quantum computers capable of breaking through classical encryption currently remain a theoretical threat, both government and industry have spent years planning for the day when the threat becomes real. A major element of the plan has been slowly switching out older encryption algorithms in IT infrastructure for newer post quantum algorithms over the span of more than a decade. One quantum executive, citing direct conversations with the government, said everyone in the quantum industry, from a policy standpoint, has been told some variation of the message that the White House wants to do for Quantum. But what they did for AI in July, unquote, a key component of one or perhaps multiple executive orders, is language that would accelerate the deadline for federal agencies post quantum migrations from 2035 to 2030. The executive, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid jeopardizing their relationship with the government, said the effort is being led by the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Department of Commerce. Commerce Deputy Secretary Paul Dabar, a former Department of Energy official during President Donald Trump's first term who co founded and led his own quantum networking technology company during the Biden years, is driving a lot of this, the source said. And it's not just industry that has received the message. A former official at the Department of Homeland Security who works with the Trump administration confirmed that they also have been advised of upcoming action and that officials at OSTP and the Office of Management and Budget have been particularly aggressive about moving forward. For more news at the intersection of the federal government and technology, make sure to visit fedscoop.com thanks so much for.
[05:26]
B
Tuning in to another episode of the Daily Scoop Podcast, available on all podcast platforms. If you've already rated the podcast on your platform of choice, thanks so much. High ratings and good reviews of the show help more people to find it. The Daily Scoop Podcast is a production of the Scoop News Group in Washington, DC. Adam Butler and Carlin Fisher help put the show together and the entire Scoop News Group team contributes. We'll be back tomorrow with more top headlines. Until then, I'm your host. As always, Billy Mitchell. Thanks so much for listening.