Another new debate: Should artificial intelligence be given the right to freedom of expression or not?

The continued use of artificial intelligence around the world raises a number of concerns and debates. While some worry that allowing AI to become too powerful will lead to the extinction of humanity, others are looking for ways to control it. Now, an expert says we should give AI the right to freedom of expression.

So why exactly do we need to give tools like ChatGPT the right to freedom of expression? Much follows from the inviolable right to freedom of thought that international law states that all people have. This right to freedom of thought essentially states that governments have a duty to create an environment in which people are free to think as they wish.

As AI has become such a big part of our day, we may need to extend the right to freedom of expression to these systems because AI can help support our thinking by providing information and providing answers to our questions. This support has led some to argue that artificial intelligence also deserves the right to freedom of expression.

While it may be tempting to throw this right over AI like a blanket, Professor Simon McCarthy-Jones of Trinity College Dublin argues that we should only grant AI freedom of expression if it supports our right to free thought.

A large part of the author’s argument is that AI systems are not human, so they should fall into the same category as politicians and corporations. The speech and thoughts of these companies and systems should not be censored because they provide opposing and diverse sources of information, allowing people to think more freely.

However, a big problem plaguing AI systems like ChatGPT is misinformation. Giving complete freedom of expression could be disastrous, as AI is very likely to misinform and make things up; Because a super-powerful misinformation bot can easily influence people’s thinking by feeding them fake information and censor other information as well.

This is a really interesting argument and definitely something that needs to be explored further as governments look for ways to regulate AI.