CDT Newest Developments on AI Governance


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CDT's Newest Developments on AI Governance

At a moment of rapid artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and advancement, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is at the forefront of the movement for policy, research, and public education that ensures new technology supports our rights and strengthens our democracy.



In recent weeks, CDT has published not one but two first-of-their-kind reports that are shaping the conversation around some of the most important questions in AI governance.

The first explores the concept of "safety drift", demonstrating how
fine-tuning — even on innocuous or helpful data sets, like law and medicine — can have an unpredictable impact ([link removed])
on safety guardrails in AI base models. Extensive fine tuning in one case might have no impact at all, but even limited fine tuning, in other circumstances, can lead chatbots to supply dangerous answers on topics such as health, suicide, and child sexual abuse. Our findings provide important context for apportioning responsibility between developers and deployers, and underscore the importance of sharing safety information across the supply chain.

Just last week, CDT's Research Team released a new study exploring how dark patterns (like the controversial "infinite scroll" of some social networking apps) map onto experiences with AI chatbots. We examine how
design choices impact chatbots used for social or personal interactions ([link removed])
-- including by children -- and offer practical suggestions to guide responsible chatbot design. These findings provide AI developers and policymakers with evidence and practical recommendations at a pivotal time for chatbot design.

We're also keeping a close eye on how AI is being used by our own government. In the second entry in CDT's AI in Policing series, we examine the
harms to communities from Shotspotter, an AI gunshot detection tool ([link removed]). After spending millions, some departments are rolling back usage due to ineffective results for public safety and serious ethical concerns over disproportionate deployment in predominantly minority communities. Meanwhile, CDT's headline-grabbing polling released earlier this month revealed that an
overwhelming majority of Americans are concerned about the misuse of personal data collected and stored by government agencies ([link removed])
-- a concern that becomes even more serious when AI is brought to bear on large sets of government data. Last month, in testimony before the House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, CDT's Samir Jain emphasized the
heightened security risks to sensitive data held by government entities ([link removed])
and highlighted how advanced AI systems will exacerbate the risks of cyberattacks, particularly for under-resourced jurisdictions.

At the same time, CDT continues to push back on
federal proposals that would block state legislatures actively working to protect their constituents from the harmful effects of AI. ([link removed])
In recent analysis, we highlight
key priorities for state legislation ([link removed])
to establish guardrails for the responsible adoption of AI by public agencies and encourage legislators to prioritize risk management, AI governance, and transparency following
legislative trends from 2025 state public sector AI bills ([link removed]). Along with the aforementioned policy priorities for public sector AI regulation, the CDT team highlighted
legislative priorities for responsible AI adoption and use in K-12 education ([link removed]).


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What the Pentagon-Anthropic Dispute Means for Civilian Agencies Across All Levels of Government ([link removed])


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Art by Telephone, Art by Algorithm: Expression, AI, and the First Amendment ([link removed])


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Design Decisions and the Duty to Defend: What an Insurance Coverage Case Signals for AI Governance ([link removed])


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CDT and EPIC Submit Comments Regarding HUD ([link removed])


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One-Year Retrospective on the Federal Government’s Implementation of Updated AI Guidance: Accelerating Usage with Incomplete Safeguards ([link removed])




As AI tools rapidly become a significant way that people interact with information and form opinions, CDT is uncovering how design choices affect AI users and working to shape policy that ensures responsible AI innovation and deployment. If you are not yet engaged and want to join the conversation, please click the link to
sign up for our mailing list ([link removed])
or reply to this email. You can help CDT advance responsible AI development that protects people's rights and interests.


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