July 21, 2023

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Congress

Bloomberg Law: AI Disinformation Drives Lawmaker Fears About 2024 ‘Wild West’

By Oma Seddiq and Amelia Davidson

.....Concerns over disinformation affecting elections aren’t new, but the recent AI boom has heightened them. Some experts predict that soon, 99% of content on the internet will be AI-generated. One study suggests humans may be more likely to believe AI-generated disinformation, based on deciphering fake versus real tweets.

The easiest and quickest option for Congress would be to require labeling on political advertisements that use AI, according to Matthew Ferraro, an attorney at WilmerHale who advises on technology and national security issues. Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Michael Bennet (Colo.), and Cory Booker (N.J.), in May introduced a bill that would do just that (S. 1596). Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) has introduced companion legislation in the House (H.R. 3044)…

When asked about AI use on the campaign trail, Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said that his Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee would soon hold a hearing “about deepfakes generally, not just with political campaigns.”

Fox News: Democrats try to censor, remove RFK Jr. at hearing on censorship

By Peter Kasperowicz

.....House Democrats on Thursday tried unsuccessfully to remove Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. from a hearing on federal government censorship, after claiming he was in violation of House rules aimed at preventing defamatory or degrading testimony.

That effort and others by Democrats to silence him at the hearing prompted Kennedy to say, "This is an attempt to censor a censorship hearing."

Free Expression

Fox News: Former ACLU president cautions that American self-censorship is eroding free speech

By David Unsworth and Ashley Carnahan

.....Freedom of speech at college campuses, libraries, governments, social media, and in the public square is under attack today on all sides, according to former ACLU president Nadine Strossen...

She believes that self-censorship and private sector censorship pose an even greater threat to today's society than government censorship.

"I would say government censorship, with one caveat, is the least dangerous, and that is not because there is less government censorship. There certainly is… But having said that, the First Amendment provides a remedy for government censorship," Strossen said. "When you're talking about private censorship, and certainly self-censorship, there is no First Amendment remedy because, of course, the First Amendment only restrains government from invading free speech."

Washington Free Beacon: Stanford Law School Ousts Diversity Dean Who Egged on Protest of Federal Judge

By Aaron Sibarium

.....Stanford Law School has parted ways with the diversity administrator who in March joined students in protesting a sitting federal judge, according to an email reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.

The Hill: Majority of college students favor reporting professors for ‘offensive’ opinions: poll

By Lexi Lonas

.....Both conservative and liberal college students believe they should report a professor if they say something they find offensive, according to a survey from the Sheila and Robert Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth at North Dakota State University exclusively shared with The Hill Wednesday.

Overall, 74 percent of all students say professors should be reported for saying something found offensive, while 26 percent disagree.

Wall Street Journal: A Notre Dame Professor Sues the Student Paper

By Carl R. Trueman

.....Stories of students canceling speakers have become commonplace in recent years. Last week South Bend, Ind., saw a new riff on this theme when Notre Dame sociology professor Tamara Kay sued a student newspaper for defamation, alleging that it misrepresented comments she made about abortion.

The Media

New York Times: Google Tests A.I. Tool That Is Able to Write News Articles

By Benjamin Mullin and Nico Grant

.....Google is testing a product that uses artificial intelligence technology to produce news stories, pitching it to news organizations including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal’s owner, News Corp, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The tool, known internally by the working title Genesis, can take in information — details of current events, for example — and generate news content, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the product.

Candidates and Campaigns

New York Times: Trump’s Legal Woes Mount as Trial Dates and Campaign Calendar Collide

By Charlie Savage

.....Generally, criminal defendants must be present in the courtroom during their trials. Not only will that force Mr. Trump to step away from the campaign trail, possibly for weeks at a time, but the judges overseeing his trials must also jostle for position in sequencing dates. The collision course is raising extraordinary — and unprecedented — questions about the logistical, legal and political challenges of various trials unfolding against the backdrop of a presidential campaign.

“The courts will have to decide how to balance the public interest in having expeditious trials against Trump’s interest and the public interest in his being able to campaign so that the democratic process works,” said Bruce Green, a Fordham University professor and former prosecutor. “That’s a type of complexity that courts have never had to deal with before.”

More broadly, the complications make plain another reality: Mr. Trump’s troubles are entangling the campaign with the courts to a degree the nation has never experienced before and raising tensions around the ideal of keeping the justice system separate from politics.

The States

Crosscut: Washington governor’s race sparks stricter campaign-finance rule

By Joseph O'Sullivan

.....Washington’s high-profile governor’s race is changing the way campaign fundraising is reported and counted. That change is shining a spotlight on Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s campaign for governor after his large transfer of funds from past campaigns to his current race.

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