Generative AI and The Future of Speech Online

In just the last year, artificial intelligence (AI) has dominated conversations about technology. Text and image generators released to the public like ChatGPT — which belong to a broad category of machine learning models called “generative AI” — have demonstrated the promises and pitfalls of advanced machine learning technology. Regulators in the U.S. and EU are focusing attention on AI in general, with an eye to limiting its harms. One thing is clear: AI will play a key role in our digital future, making it crucial to understand the opportunities and risks the technology poses to human rights and democracies. 

Join us virtually for the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT)’s seventh annual Future of Speech Online event, on October 4-5, where we’ll explore how to build a rights-respecting future where people benefit from generative AI. We’ll look at how these tools are created and used, what kind of technical, policy, and legal safeguards are feasible, and how various approaches to regulation might shape the landscape for online speech.

Importantly, we’ll ground attendees in the technical know-how necessary for navigating policy conversations around generative AI and other types of large language models. We’ll also consider questions including: What makes for safe and accountable generative AI? Who should be held liable when developing and using these tools? What risks does generative AI pose for the many high-stakes elections happening around the world in the coming year? What outcomes do we want to incentivize? 

Throughout the event’s sessions, we’ll hear from legal experts, technologists, and policymakers about what the explosion of generative AI models means for online speech. 
 

Center for Democracy and Technology

The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is a 27-year-old 501(c)3 nonpartisan nonprofit organization working to promote democratic values by shaping technology policy and architecture, with a focus on equity and justice. The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has a Europe Office in Brussels, Belgium.

https://cdt.org/

Stand Together Trust

Stand Together Trust supports social entrepreneurs across society working in education, communities, business, and government. We do this by supporting applied research that turns great ideas into practical solutions and investing in projects that demonstrate new and better ways to tackle the root causes of our country’s biggest problems.

https://www.standtogethertrust.org