WASHINGTON – Attorneys with the Alliance Defending Freedom Center for Free Speech sent a public records request Friday to the U.S. Department of Commerce seeking information regarding the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute. ADF is investigating whether the NIST engaged in unlawful suppression of speech or information in AI development.
The Freedom of Information Act letter seeks documentation and communication with key phrases like “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and “bias,” with the goal of determining whether the Biden administration pressured AI developers to favor certain speech and ideas over others.
“The federal government has no business picking winners and losers in the marketplace of ideas,” said ADF Senior Counsel Phil Sechler, director of the ADF Center for Free Speech. “The development of private artificial intelligence tools shouldn’t be coded with federally compelled speech or information suppression. Americans have a right to a diverse range of topics and ideas, but the prior administration may have been seeking to silence conservative viewpoints. Our aim is to expose any government activity that falls short of America’s First Amendment guarantee.”
In addition to these requests, ADF sent two FOIA requests to the National Science Foundation to obtain information related to its funding of tools that may be used to censor Americans’ speech and information regarding its cooperation with organizations to moderate online speech.
- Pronunciation guide: Sechler (SECK’-lur)
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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