Hands Off My Post: Rethinking Section 230 and Private Online Platform Liability
Justin Sells Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the Israel-Hamas conflict, private online platforms, namely, social media websites such as Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), have censored their respective users by removing, downgrading, or materially altering users’ posts. Before Murthy v. Missouri, the United States government encouraged and coerced private online platforms to censor users. Arguably, the joint efforts of the U.S. government and private online platforms to censor users have resulted in First Amendment violations, copyright infringement, and breach of contract. Private online platforms, however, are shielded from liability under 47 U.S. Code Section 230. This Article argues that...
Regulating Into the Void: Existential Uncertainty from a AI Necessitates a New Federal Research Agency
Alexander C. Kurtz Abstract: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a nascent technology that threatens great harm while simultaneously promising significant benefits. Although AI possesses incredible capabilities to solve problems and complete tasks, it also poses two major threats: technological dislocation and existential catastrophe. Accordingly, the novelty and power of generative AI has led to calls for regulation, including requests for a new federal agency. This Article examines whether Congress should authorize a new federal agency for AI and, if so, what its scope of authority should be. In contemplating such regulation, it is important to consider whether existing agencies can...
Shock & Awe: Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems and the Erosion of Military Accountability
Austin Tarullo In 2023, the United States Department of Defense announced plans to deploy autonomous weapons systems by 2025. These weapons, which can select and fire upon targets without human intervention, are no longer the lore of science fiction. Although fears that such weapons will lower the barriers to entry to war have spurred global calls to ban them, the Department of Defense’s announcement confirmed that the use of autonomous weapons is inevitable. AI applications in other sectors––including consumer products, medical diagnoses, and law enforcement––have illuminated shortcomings inherent to intelligent algorithms, including bias, opaqueness, an inability to comprehend causation, and...