In the summer of 2023, hype about artificial intelligence (AI) and its harms have dominated headlines. From generative AI to deepfakes, from the use of AI in hiring to prediction of mental health outcomes, use of AI systems is widespread, and policymakers around the world are paying more attention than ever.
While the European Union is in final negotiations on its AI Act, U.S. efforts to regulate AI are less centralized despite the desperate need for guidance of the technology’s creation and uses across the country. At CDT, we believe AI governance must protect people’s rights, transparently address and mitigate harms, and foster responsible, rights-respecting innovation.
This summer, we pushed policymakers to govern AI according to key principles including equity and transparency. In just the past month, we have:
- Urged President Biden to focus his Administration’s anticipated AI Executive Order on the principle that the federal government should not use an AI system unless it is shown to be effective, safe, and nondiscriminatory.
- Encouraged the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology’s Working Group on Generative AI to address the impact of generative AI tools on elections.
- Suggested that policymakers should ensure federal grant funding drives responsible and ethical use of AI by state and local governments.
- Recommended ways that the National Science Foundation’s new Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships could invest in research to build training and test datasets in non-English languages.
- Raised policy questions around social agents, which are used widely enough to allow for concrete discussions, and are also early enough in development to shape their future course.
- Analyzed federal agencies’ inventories of their AI systems, which show that the government is using AI in a number of ways — for example in chatbots, national security, and veterans’ mental health — that warrant further attention.
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As policymakers, businesses, and regular people around the world grapple with the promises and risks created by new AI developments, now is a critical time to get it right. As our President and CEO, Alexandra Reeve Givens, testified earlier this year, “It is time to move beyond simply describing the potential risks of AI systems and articulating high-level principles. We need a cross-society effort to meaningfully and concretely address those risks—protecting consumers and workers, guiding businesses, and shaping innovation to ensure that America’s global AI leadership is grounded in a true commitment to trust, fairness, and democratic values.”
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 | CDT Research report, entitled "Beyond the Screen: Parents' Experiences with Student Activity Monitoring in K-12 Schools." Illustration of a laptop, browser windows and social media posts being monitored – and the hands of adults reaching in to understand not just what's being flagged, but the system itself and its impacts.
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In Case You Missed It
— To examine the impact of student activity monitoring tools in-depth, CDT recently conducted interviews with parents whose children have experienced short- and long-term consequences based on use of the technology. The stories paint a more complete picture of the effects of student activity monitoring on students, the ways schools respond to the information collected, and the changes parents want to see if these systems continue to be implemented.
— CDT responded to a request by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for input on the breadth of the data broker ecosystem and its impacts on consumers, and how the CFPB can apply its existing authorities to the harms that brokers’ practices can cause to consumers. Our comments describe data brokers’ practices; explain the limitations of certain measures that are supposed to protect consumers from these practices; and discuss how the CFPB should clarify the application of the Fair Credit Reporting Act to data brokers to minimize data sharing.
— At the Aspen Ideas Festival, CDT’s Alexandra Reeve Givens spoke on a panel about navigating the future of data, privacy, and AI, as well as panels on AI governance and a career as a public interest advocate.
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 | CDT President & CEO Alexandra Reeve Givens. Wearing a patterned jacket and blue dress, seated outdoors.
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CDT in the Press— CDT President and CEO Alexandra Givens discussed efforts to regulate AI with The Atlantic: “Companies could be compelled to disclose information about how their programs were trained, the software’s limitations, and how they mitigated potential harms. Right now, there’s extraordinary information asymmetry — tech companies tend to reveal very little about how they train and validate their software.”
— CDT’s Emma Llansó talked about the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) with Texas Public Radio: “What KOSA may end up doing is giving state attorneys general — some of whom are already campaigning against trans youth and other young members and adult members of the LGBTQ community — a tool to go after online services, if the state attorney general disagrees with the kind of information about gender-affirming care or access to reproductive health care or other kinds of information are being made available on that service.”
— CDT’s Jake Laperruque told Spectrum News about government surveillance, “There needs to be a strict, clear rule, the same way if the government wanted to wiretap your phone, search your house, or read your emails. If you want to do that, you have to get a warrant first.”
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 | Logo for the 2023 Future of Speech Online event Features a indigo background with white text " Generative AI and the Future of Speech online" above a text bubble with green, pink and blue lines inside" Logos for CDT and Stand Together Trust can be found below.
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CDT "in Person"— Save the date for CDT’s seventh annual Future of Speech Online virtual event, on October 4-5, where we’ll explore the promises and perils of generative AI models for the online speech landscape.
— Reserve your place now for CDT’s Tech Prom — prices increase on September 1! Join us on Thursday, November 2, 2023, from 6:00–10:00 PM at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., along with fellow policymakers, educators, civil society advocates, government representatives, corporate partners, and the interested public. Learn more about the event, sponsorship opportunities, and tickets on our Tech Prom event page.
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 | Nathalie Maréchal, wearing a bright pink top and silver necklace in front of a CDT logo.
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How long have you been working in digital rights? I’ve been working in human rights, technology, and policy ever since my first professional job in 2006. I was able to bring all these things together about 10 years ago.
What is your proudest moment while here at CDT? The massive body of work on AI policy and governance that CDT-ers have collectively produced this year.
What is the most recent cultural activity you’ve been to? I saw Julieta Venegas, an American-born Mexican pop star who was huge in Latin America in the 90s and 2000s, when she came through DC earlier this summer.
Cats or dogs? Horses!
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