Marietje Schaake is a former Dutch member of the European parliament. She is now the international policy director at Stanford University Cyber Policy Center and international policy fellow at Stanford's Institute for Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence. Her new book is entitled The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley. In terms of power and political influence, what are the main differences between big tech and previous incarnations of big business? The difference is the role that these tech companies play in so many aspects of people's lives: in the state, the economy, geopolitics.

Technology companies provide much of the critical infrastructure of the modern state and develop products that affect fundamental rights. Search and social media companies, for example, have set de facto norms on privacy, while facial recognition and predictive policing software used by law enforcement agencies can contain racial bias. In this episode of Deep Tech, Marietje Schaake argues that national regulators aren't doing enough to enforce democratic values in technology, and it will take an international effort to fight back. Schaake--a Dutch politician who used to be a member of the European parliament and is now international policy director at Stanford University's Cyber Policy Center--joins our editor-in-chief, Gideon Lichfield, to discuss how decisions made in the interests of business are dictating the lives of billions of people. Also this week, we get the latest on the hunt to locate an air leak aboard the International Space Station--which has grown larger in recent weeks. Elsewhere in space, new findings suggest there is even more liquid water on Mars than we thought. It's located in deep underground lakes and there's a chance it could be home to Martian life. Space reporter Neel Patel explains how we might find out. Back on Earth, the US election is heating up. Data reporter Tate Ryan-Mosley breaks down how technologies like microtargeting and data analytics have improved since 2016. Check out more episodes of Deep Tech here. Gideon Lichfield: There's a situation playing out onboard the International Space Station that sounds like something out of Star Trek… But there is an air leak in the space station.

The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) and the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) are pleased to announce that Marietje Schaake has been named to international policy roles in each of their organizations. At FSI, Schaake will serve as the first international policy director of the Cyber Policy Center. With a focus on cybersecurity, disinformation, digital democracy and election security, the Cyber Policy Center's research, teaching and policy engagement aims to bring new insights and solutions to national governments, international institutions and industry. Schaake will also be an international policy fellow at Stanford HAI, which seeks to advance artificial intelligence (AI) research, education, policy and practice to improve the human condition. The university-wide institute is committed to working with industry, governments and civil society organizations that share the goal of a better future for humanity through AI.

Marietje Schaake has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament for the Dutch Democratic Party (D66) with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) political group since 2009. She serves on the International Trade committee and is the spokesperson for the ALDE Group on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Schaake also serves on the committee on Foreign Affairs and the subcommittee on Human Rights. She is the founder of the European Parliament Intergroup on the Digital Agenda for Europe. Furthermore, Marietje Schaake is the Vice-President of the US Delegation and serves on the Iran Delegation and the Delegation for the Arab peninsula.