The House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed the Biden administration’s agency implementing an artificial intelligence research program to combat “misinformation” online — which would also help social media giants censor Americans’ free speech.
Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote in a Tuesday letter obtained exclusively by The Post that the National Science Foundation (NSF) “has yet to produce the highest priority document” on the controversial research program and has failed to comply with voluntary requests for nearly a year.
The subpoena demands that NSF director Sethuraman Panchanathan turn over all internal records that discuss the suppression or restriction of online content — including any potential documents on an October 2020 report that The Post censored based on emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop.
Other moderate content may include insights into the origins of COVID-19, vaccine effectiveness and other pandemic-era concerns; foreign and domestic election interference; “The Twitter File” and censorship of journalists; transgender issues; abortion; climate change; firearm; and “the use of financial services and systems to further political or social objectives.”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan subpoenaed the Biden administration’s agency implementing an artificial intelligence research program to combat “misinformation” online, according to a letter obtained exclusively by The Post. National Science Foundation Director AP Sethuraman Panchanathan “has not yet produced the highest priority document” on the controversial research program that would help the social media giant censor Americans’ free speech. CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images
“It is necessary for Congress to measure the extent to which NSF officials have coerced, pressured, worked with, or relied on social media and other technology companies and third parties to censor speech,” Jordan told Panchanathan.
“Additionally, the Committee has documents showing that NSF staff regularly interact and communicate with organizations that receive NSF funds, including for projects focused on combating allegations of online misinformation. NSF has yet to produce any records relating to this communication or any other meeting.”
Panchanathan must appear before the committee and produce requested documents and communications about the program by 9 a.m. Feb. 28, according to the subpoena.
Jordan and like-minded lawmakers are deeply concerned that AI could be used by YouTube, Reddit, Facebook and other platforms to limit the reach of critical journalism and other First Amendment activities.
It’s not known if any of the tools created as part of the program have been used by social media companies — or executive branch agencies.
The subpoena demands that NSF turn over all internal records that discuss the suppression or restriction of online content — including any potential documents on The Post’s censored October 2020 article based on emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop. vmodica
In a staff report Tuesday, the Select Subcommittee on Armaments of the Federal Government revealed that under the NSF program, known as “Track F,” the feds spent more than $39 million in grants to identify “misinformation” and create “educational materials and training.” for those who have a “weakness to disinformation methods.”
Researchers at three elite universities — the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Wisconsin Madison and the University of Michigan — as well as the San Francisco-based technology nonprofit Meedan, received a $13 million grant for a subprogram titled “Trust & Authenticity in Communication Systems .”
The subcommittee released emails from several researchers expressing particular concern that conservatives and veterans are more likely to be duped by “misinformation” or “misinformation” on the internet.
One NSF program, known as “Track F,” contributed more than $39 million in grants to identify “misinformation” and create “educational and training materials” for those with a “vulnerability to disinformation methods.” House Judiciary Committee
Some of the program’s tools can help weed out harmful or illegal content — such as fake photos or child pornography — but the GOP report also cited an MIT researcher who expressed concern about “the vast majority of the public” being unable to “separate truth from fiction online .”
Researchers noted that people who read “the Bible or the Constitution” are not fully informed about the issues – and are more likely to “fact check how the media reports the news” because they “distrust both journalists and academics.”
A researcher at the University of Wisconsin also wrote about “focusing specifically on … doubts about the integrity of US elections and doubts related to the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Researchers noted that people who read “the Bible or the Constitution” are not fully informed about the issues – and are more likely to “fact check how the media reports the news” because they “distrust both journalists and academics.” House Judiciary Committee
At the University of Michigan, yet another researcher advocated for the federal government to make content “moderation” decisions, rather than social media companies.
“Our disinformation service helps policymakers on platforms who want to … offload the responsibility for difficult judgments to someone outside the company … by externalizing the difficult censoring responsibility,” the researchers said in a letter of application to the NSF.
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A University of Washington researcher also wrote to an NSF official describing the attempt to cover up the misinformation as an act “political in nature” that would lead to “censorship.”
A researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison also wrote about “focusing specifically on … doubts about the integrity of US elections and doubts related to the COVID-19 vaccine.” AP
Jordan’s committee has gathered other evidence that the federal government under both former President Donald Trump and President Biden colluded with large technology platforms to suppress the speech of Americans.
Last year, a lower federal court ruling found that the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FBI — among other agencies — also “likely violated the First Amendment” by “likely coercing or encouraging social media platforms to moderate.” content.”
The Biden administration has since appealed the decision in that case, Missouri v. Biden, to the Supreme Court.
An NSF spokesperson told The Post that the agency “has been working with the House Judiciary Committee to address their concerns and will continue to do so on the requests outlined in this report.”
“NSF is not involved in censorship and has no role in content policy or regulation,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Every statute and guidance from Congress, we’ve made investments in research to help understand the communication technologies that allow things like fakes and how people interact with them.”
“By understanding how they operate and are used, we can give policymakers the information they need to make informed decisions about regulations and fences to protect the public and ensure they can make informed decisions,” the spokesperson added.
“NSF has at no time attempted to conceal or mislead the public, Congress, or the media regarding the Track F Program or any of its other investments. The ‘media strategy’ referred to in the committee’s report was conducted contrary to the official NSF Media Policy and without the input or knowledge of NSF Leadership and was not used by NSF.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
