A nonprofit legal organization focused on protecting free speech is investigating whether the Biden administration has used artificial intelligence tools to censor speech.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a Freedom of Information Act request on Friday, demanding that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which oversees the Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute, release documents and communications referencing “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and related terms.
NIST, a bureau within the Department of Commerce, plays a key role in setting technology standards and fostering innovation. ADF Senior Vice President Ryan Bangert said the organization is also seeking records of communication between NIST and the Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Consortium, a coalition of 280 industry leaders.
“The consortium includes companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, [and] Apple,” Bangert said, noting that it also involves several academic institutions.
ADF is requesting these records to determine what “standards or guidelines or efforts” have been developed to influence how AI handles what the government and tech leaders classify as “misinformation” and “disinformation.”
Specifically, ADF is demanding answers on:
- How federal agencies define “misinformation” and “disinformation.”
- What steps they propose to restrict Americans’ access to certain types of information deemed unacceptable.
- What guardrails they intend to impose on AI to prevent such information from reaching the public.
