Trump's Silicon Valley advisers target AI 'censorship'
American president Donald Trump has a group of people, tech experts, Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen and David Sacks who advise him on technology problems. They think there is a concern about censure by AI. They describe it as a problem where large tech companies use AI chatbots to control what people can learn. Instead of sharing a variety of information, these chatbots might stick to one “approved” answer that fits the company’s own agenda.
Such an approach could be problematic if the chatbot avoids certain subjects or facts. People might never know they’re missing an alternative side of story. Take Google’s Gemini AI, for instance: it created images of historical figures but altered their race. Google said that was an error and stopped the image feature, though Andreessen and Sacks suspect it hints at deeper bias.
Elon Musk also argues that chatbots fear sharing certain information. He founded xAI as a rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which he criticizes for being overly “politically correct.”
This discussion shows deeper worries about social media and search engines shaping our viewpoints. In the past, some have accused platforms like Facebook or Twitter of hiding disliked posts. But AI chatbots could go further by offering only one “final” response, leaving out other perspectives completely.
It’s not clear how the government might respond if it sees “AI censorship” as a genuine threat. Officials may investigate AI firms, craft new rules, or demand changes in chatbot design. For now, Trump’s advisers insist that free speech hinges not only on social media guidelines but also on how AI chatbots decide which information to present.