The internet and social media were transformative technologies that enabled the distribution of speech at a speed and scale that the world had never seen before.
Generative AI, a technology that can quickly construct various types of media with a few prompts, has a similar transformative potential because it allows people to create text, images, art, music, videos, and more at a speed and scale that was never possible before.
As the internet and social media became more ubiquitous, some lawmakers attempted to put the genie back in the bottle by ignoring First Amendment concerns and demanding that online platforms censor content that lawmakers deem to be “misinformation.” And on Tuesday, during the first Senate hearing on generative AI, some lawmakers made similar demands of this new technology.
