No one listened to Rand Paul about Big Tech censorship, we should about AI
Christopher Tremoglie
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Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has taken it upon himself to ensure the citizens of the country don’t accidentally on purpose eradicate our nation’s cherished liberties. Whether it’s censorship on platforms such as X, formerly known as Twitter, YouTube, or the inconsistent and in many cases incorrect information about masking, vaccines, and COVID-19 origins, Paul has diligently fought to protect the Constitution from overreaching politicians in power. The latest threat stems from the government’s involvement in artificial intelligence and the dangers of weaponizing that technology to suppress speech.
“Indeed, American politicians have no qualms about criticizing foreign governments such as Russia and China for suppressing civil liberties and efforts to eliminate dissent,” Paul wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Examiner. “Yet, there seems to be a complete unwillingness to have an honest conversation about the disturbingly similar actions our own government is actively engaged in and financing.”
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The technological developments of AI in the country, and human civilization, represent a delicate time in human history. The revelations of rampant left-wing corruption by Big Tech highlighted the harrowing depths to which political activists will go to eliminate freedoms in pursuit of political agendas. Given the enormous complexities of AI and the magnitude of its effect, Paul wants to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself. So far, the early signs of what Paul found about AI are not encouraging.
“For decades, the Pentagon and other federal agencies have been quietly partnering with private organizations to develop powerful surveillance and intervention tools designed to monitor and influence narratives on social media,” Paul wrote. “For example, a 2021 Pentagon program called Civil Sanctuary sought to develop AI tools to scale the moderation capability of social media platforms to create what it describes as a ‘more stable information environment.’ In other words, the goal of this Pentagon program was to exponentially multiply the government’s ability to coordinate censorship of online speech.”
Paul’s discovery more resembles the plot of horror stories about the corruption of AI instead of a worthwhile government program that benefits society. It raises many red flags and is cause for concern. The technology of the 21st century appears to be vulnerable to ideological manipulation to suppress the freedoms the scholars of the 18th century sought to protect. Moreover, Paul claimed it has been using taxpayer money to accomplish this.
“The Pentagon has invested millions of taxpayer dollars to develop these tools — not only for the use of social media companies but also by the intelligence community and law enforcement,” Paul said. “What we do know is that our government is funding the development of powerful artificial intelligence tools for monitoring and shaping online discourse.”
AI represents an opportunity to revolutionize the world and usher in an era of technological advancements that many people used to only dream about. But as of now, many vulnerabilities could compromise its integrities. Instead of a benevolent technological advancement, bad-faith actors have shown they can, and do, weaponize technology to help achieve societal ideological objectives. As was revealed with Big Tech, in many cases, these objectives run counter to the nation’s liberties and freedoms.
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“Now, I want to be clear. AI is not inherently malicious. It has the potential to revolutionize basic aspects of society, from healthcare to education,” Paul wrote. “However, in the hands of an unchecked government, AI can be weaponized as a tool to suppress the fundamental values our country was founded upon — the open exchange of ideas, the freedom to question, and the right to dissent.”
“As AI continues to develop, I remain committed to conducting extensive oversight on this issue and working diligently to protect the First Amendment rights of American citizens,” Paul concluded.