Biden’s latest bid to crack down on AI could open door to more ‘censorship’ online, experts warn

• President Joe Biden issued a sweeping executive order on Monday aimed at curbing the spread of misleading content generated by artificial intelligence (AI), a move that some experts believe could lead to more content being taken down on line.
• Monday’s executive order appears to focus, in part, on protecting Americans by labeling deepfakes, which are deceptive content generated by AI and made to appear authentic, according to the fact sheet detailing the order.
• “The justifications for the executive order leave open the possibility of all kinds of things, especially censorship,” Digital Progress Institute President Joel Thayer told the DCNF. “If we’re just putting labels on things, what constitutes an AI label? What are the regulatory actions they can take if they’re not properly labeled? Do they force companies to take down content? How much influence will the White House have on these decisions? ?

President Joe Biden on Monday signed a sweeping executive order cracking down on fake content produced by artificial intelligence (AI), a move experts say could open the door to more online censorship.

The Biden administration recently assured “voluntary commitments” of leading tech companies in July to address the risks it poses AI and also published a project for an AI invoice of rights which is largely concerned with ‘discrimination’, ‘fairness’ and ‘bias’. Monday’s executive order appears to focus in part on safeguarding Americans by labeling and identifying deepfakes, which are fraudulent content created by AI that appears to be genuine. seconds to an information sheet describing the order.

While there are no explicit references to “disinformation” or “disinformation” in the fact sheet, the vague language leaves open the possibility of content censorship, experts told the DCNF.

“The justifications for the executive order leave open the possibility of all kinds of things, especially censorship,” Digital Progress Institute President Joel Thayer told the DCNF. “If we’re just putting labels on things, what constitutes an AI label? What are the regulatory actions they can take if they’re not properly labeled? Do they force companies to take down content? How much influence will the White House have on these decisions? ?

An example of clearly identifying AI-created content is “watermark”, according to the fact sheet.

Here’s how President Biden’s historic Executive Order on AI will ensure America leads the way in this period of technological change while keeping Americans safe. pic.twitter.com/SvBPxiZk3M

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 30, 2023

Government regulation of AI is important, but it can go too far, American Principles Project Policy Director Jon Schweppe told the DCNF.

“There is a role for direct government oversight of AI, especially when it comes to scientific research and national security,” Schweppe explained. “But at the end of the day, we don’t need government bureaucrats to micromanage every facet of the problem.”

Experts also expressed concern about the executive order’s guidelines to prevent “algorithmic discrimination,” which is when AI systems do not produce equitable outcomes in areas such as housing, health care and criminal justice.

“Certainly, we shouldn’t want an Office of Artificial Intelligence exercising itself to investigate whether a company’s AI algorithm is adequately ‘woke,'” Schweppe stated.

The order “protects Americans from artificial intelligence fraud and deception,” according to the fact sheet. The Commerce Department will set out recommendations for identifying “AI-generated content and authenticating official content.”

The words “authenticate official content” raised a red flag for Adam Thierer, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute.

“Today’s Executive Order invites potentially major intrusion by federal bureaucracies into AI markets, and that includes the speech market,” he told the DCNF. “Government efforts around ‘authentication of official content’ raise thorny questions about what constitutes disinformation or disinformation from a regulatory perspective.”

“We’ve already seen some political wrangling over the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) controversial Disinformation Governance Board, and we can expect those wrangling to intensify as more bureaucrats seek to make determinations about what constitutes acceptable algorithmic speech.” Thierer added.

DHS Secretary Alexander Mayorkas he said lawmakers in 2022 that the agency had formed the Government Board of Disinformation to combat misinformation and disinformation targeting minority communities. The board received widespread scrutiny from Republicans and was stopped by DHS.

Alan Davidson, Biden’s assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information affirmed in April, such AI regulation could include government assessments of whether AI is spreading “misinformation, disinformation, or other misleading content.”

The White House, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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