III. How Do Companies Balance Free Speech and Safety? | A.I. & The First Amendment

Panel 3: How Do Companies Balance Free Speech and Safety?

What tools and practices are AI providers using to promote safety and alignment broadly and limit the production of CSAM, terrorist content, etc.? What are the impacts on specific users (e.g., non-English speaking communities, or persons with disabilities)?

Panelists:

Dave Willner — Non-Resident Fellow, Program on Governance of Emerging Technologies at Stanford University
Jules White — Professor of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University
Jacob Mchangama — Founder and Executive Director, The Future of Free Speech and Research Professor, Vanderbilt University
Moderator: Jennifer Huddleston — Senior Fellow in Technology Policy, Cato Institute

About the Symposium | Artificial Intelligence & The First Amendment: Protecting Free Speech in the AI Era

Date: June 24, 2024

As federal and state policymakers grapple with how to regulate emerging AI technology, there is an urgent need to address the implications of policy proposals on free speech and open discourse. Policymakers around the world have focused on the potential dangers of AI, often assuming that regulation is necessary.

In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden announced that he wanted to “[h]arness the promise of A.I. and protect us from its peril,” including proposals to “[b]an A.I. voice impersonation and more.” Meanwhile, the E.U. recently adopted sweeping regulations that could significantly impact AI companies’ content and moderation policies in the U.S.

What threats does AI pose to our information environment? What steps can and should policymakers take to address those threats without unduly burdening online free speech?

A symposium organized by The Future of Free Speech at Vanderbilt University and the Center for Democracy and Technology (‪‪@CenDemTech‬) brought together leading voices from civil society, U.S. institutions, and the private sector. Panels focused on proposed AI regulations in the context of the First Amendment and other free speech protections. The participants discussed how freedom of expression principles, both in the U.S. and abroad, should apply to generative AI and explored ways to create a resilient free-speech culture.