A project of a left-wing dark money group that previously attempted to ignite an advertiser boycott of Twitter over its speech policies is now turning its focus to regulating artificial intelligence (AI), according to a report it released Thursday.
Accountable Tech, along with two other activist groups, released a report Thursday citing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example of how federal agencies should regulate AI, arguing the technology may speed up “election manipulation” and worsen “bias and discrimination.” The organization previously headed a campaign pushing advertisers to stop spending on X, formerly known as Twitter, after billionaire Elon Musk took over the company because of perceived “disinformation, hate, and harassment,” according to a letter it sent in November.
Accountable Tech is a registered trade name of the North Fund, a left-wing dark money group, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported. The organization’s mission is to “tackle the existential threat Big Tech companies pose to our information ecosystem and democracy,” according to its website.
The North Fund contributes to a variety of left-leaning groups, causes and Democratic candidates, according to tax filings, and is managed by Arabella Advisors, a consultancy firm which provides accounting services for a network of left-wing dark money operations.
Accountable Tech laid out the threats it believes AI poses to society in its report.
“Near-term harms include turbocharging election manipulation and scams, exacerbating bias and discrimination, eroding privacy and autonomy, and many more,” the report states. “And additional systemic threats loom in the medium and longer terms, like steep environmental costs, large-scale workforce disruptions, and further consolidation of power by Big Tech across the digital economy.”
Industry leaders have cautioned about the risk of AI leading to extinction, the report adds. It describes the FDA’s regulation process and refers to it as a “helpful guidepost” for AI.
“If greenlit, they begin the first of three intensive phases of clinical trials, after which they may submit a formal application to bring the drug to market,” the report states. “If the FDA decides to move forward, a review team then evaluates all research to determine if the drug is safe and effective for its intended use.” (RELATED: White House Announces Artificial Intelligence Vows From Big Tech … But Experts Are Unimpressed)
Zero trust. That’s what we should have in tech companies urging “self-regulation” for AI technology. Together with @accountabletech and @EPICprivacy, we outline how policymakers can address AI’s dangers with a new #ZeroTrustAI Governance framework: https://t.co/Ji4uf0nSIf
— AI Now Institute (@AINowInstitute) August 10, 2023
“This is not necessarily a call for a new ‘FDA for AI,’ nor is this regime a one-to-one prescription for AI governance, which must be much faster-moving and more elastic,” the report adds.
Agencies need to “vigorously enforc[e] existing laws,” on AI, the report demands, echoing previous language from federal agencies in a joint statement. Moreover, companies should have to prove their AI is not dangerous by protecting against “algorithmic discrimination,” according to the report.
Accountable Tech’s November letter calls on advertisers to demand that Musk “keep accounts including those of public figures and politicians that were removed for egregious violations of Twitter Rules – such as harassment, violence, and hateful conduct – off the platform.”
Left-wing billionaire and Democratic megadonor Pierre Omidyar’s Omidyar Network has contributed over $300,000 to Accountable Tech, according to its grants database.
The AI Now Institute, which also helped author the report, receives backing from left-wing billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundations as well as $1,500,000 from Luminate, another organization Omidyar backs, according to its website. Furthermore, the AI Now Institute received $970,000 in funding from the left-wing Ford Foundation, according to its grants database.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) was the third author of the report.
Accountable Tech, AI Now Institute and EPIC did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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