The Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP), legally known as Caidp, is a think tank and advocacy group dedicated to regulating the development of artificial intelligence (AI). CAIDP supports slowing AI development with an emphasis on legal guidelines to encourage AI alignment with democratic principles. The organization’s policy goals and work is largely based on founder and president Marc Rotenberg, an academic and AI expert who has worked in digital policy since the 1980s.

Founding

The Center for AI and Digital Policy was founded in July 2020 as a project of the Michael Dukakis Institute, an AI policy think tank under the leadership of Marc Rotenberg. ¹ Rotenberg, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, is an AI and technology expert who led the Electronic Privacy Information Center from 1994 to 2020. Rotenberg previously chaired the Privacy International and the Public Interest Registry. In the 1980s, Rotenberg served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for one year and founded the Public Interest Computer Association. ²

Rotenberg helped draft the Universal Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence, a 2018 declaration that functions as a principal bedrock for the CAIDP. The 12 points in the Guidelines include an individual’s right to have decisions made by a human rather than an AI, and the obligation for AIs to “not reflect unfair bias or make impermissible discriminatory decisions.” ^{3 4}

Activities

Pause Giant AI Experiments

In March 2023, Center for AI and Digital Policy founder Marc Rotenberg signed an open letter encouraging a “Pause on Giant AI Experiments” for six months. The letter specifically targeted OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. The letter claimed that “AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity.” These risks include automating too many jobs, “[flooding] our information channels with propaganda,” and possibly the “loss of control of our civilization.” Other signatories to the letter included Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Tesla CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk, and Forward Party founder Andrew Yang. ⁵

Facial Recognition Technology

In 2022, the CAIDP launched the Ban Facial Surveillance Technology and Other Forms of Mass Biometric Identification campaign which argues that the technology is often used to “suppress dissent, oppress minorities, and limit political freedoms.” The campaign urges countries to outlaw facial surveillance technology, to review the legality of data collection in current biometric identification systems, and to review current systems for bias and security risks. ^{6 7}

Transparency Project

In November 2022, the CAIDP launched the Transparency Project to monitor emerging United States AI policy using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). ⁸

OSTP AI Bill of Rights

In May 2022, the CAIDP launched a campaign to support the establishment of an AI Bill of Rights at the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy to guide the development of AI in the United States. The CAIDP recommends using the Universal Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence as a blueprint. ⁹

Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Values Index

In 2020, the CAIDP released its first Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Values Index which ranked 30 countries based on assessments of their AI policies. The most recent index, released in 2023, had rankings for 75 countries, with the top ratings going to a three-way tie between Canada, Japan, and South Korea, followed by Colombia. The report’s assessment of the United States is that the government “lacks a unified national policy on AI” and related cyber issues. Its score puts the United States in the bottom of the third out of five tiers, tied with Peru and just ahead of China. ¹⁰

Funding for the project has come from the Craig Newmark Foundation, the Fund for Constitutional Government, the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, and the Planet Heritage Foundation, among other individuals and groups. ¹¹

Ukraine War

The CAIDP condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and urged countries to monitor for AI and algorithm-based pro-Russia propaganda efforts. ¹²

Legal Cases

OpenAI

In March 2023, the Center for AI and Digital Policy filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding OpenAI, claiming that the AI development company was allegedly engaging in unfair and deceptive practices. According to the CAIDP, OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4 is “biased, deceptive, and a risk to privacy and public safety,” and the FTC should establish an independent review board to monitor the product. ¹³

In July 2023, the FTC opened an investigation into OpenAI. ¹⁴

Gonzales v. Google

The CAIDP supports the plaintiffs in Gonzales v. Google, a U.S. Supreme Court case regarding whether technology companies can be held liable for suggestions made by their algorithms. According to the CAIDP, “Recommendation algorithms amplify hate, misinformation, and defamation,” and thus liability or regulations are needed to restrain their use. ¹⁵

In 2023, the Supreme Court directed that the case return to the lower courts for reconsideration under a new legal standard; Scotusblog, a legal-news outlet, suggested the case “was unlikely to survive” that standard. ¹⁶

Partner Organizations

The Center for AI and Digital Policy’s partner organizations include the G20, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Carnegie Council Ethics in International Affairs, UNESCO, and the Council on Foreign Relations. ¹⁷

1. “MARC ROTENBERG JOINS THE MICHAEL DUKAKIS INSTITUTE TO LAUNCH NEW CENTER ON AI POLICY.” Michael Dukakis Institute. July 1, 2020. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://dukakis.org/news-and-events/marc-rotenberg-joins-the-michael-dukakis-institute-to-launch-new-center-on-ai-policy/.
2. “Marc Rotenberg.” LinkedIn. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-rotenberg/.
3. ^[1] “Annual Report 2022.” Center for AI and Digital Policy. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.caidp.org/about-2/.
4. “Universal Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence.” The Public Voice. October 23, 2018. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20210915223135/https://thepublicvoice.org/ai-universal-guidelines/.
5. “Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter.” Future of Life. March 22, 2023. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/.
6. “Annual Report 2022.” Center for AI and Digital Policy. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.caidp.org/about-2/.
7. “BAN FACIAL SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY.” Center for AI and Digital Policy. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.caidp.org/statements/ban-facial-surveillance-technology/.
8. “TRANSPARENCY PROJECT.” Center for AI and Digital Policy. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.caidp.org/cases/transparency-project/.
9. “SUPPORT THE OSTP AI BILL OF RIGHTS.” Center for AI and Digital Policy. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.caidp.org/statements/ostp/.
10. “ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DEMOCRATIC VALUES.” Center for AI and Digitial Policy. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.caidp.org/reports/aidv-2022/.
11. “ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DEMOCRATIC VALUES.” Center for AI and Digitial Policy. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.caidp.org/reports/aidv-2022/.
12. “Statement on Ukraine.” Center for AI and Digital Policy. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.caidp.org/statements/support-ukraine/.
13. Feiner, Lauren. “OpenAI faces complaint to FTC that seeks investigation and suspension of ChatGPT releases.” CNBC. March 30, 2023. Updated April 17, 2023. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/30/openai-faces-complaint-to-ftc-that-seeks-suspension-of-chatgpt-updates.html#:~:text=OpenAI%20faces%20complaint%20to%20FTC%20that%20seeks%20investigation%20and%20suspension%20of%20ChatGPT%20releases,-Published%20Thu%2C%20Mar&text=A%20new%20complaint%20to%20the,language%20models%20such%20as%20ChatGPT.
14. “IN THE MATTER OF OPEN AI (FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 2023).” Center for AI and Digital Policy. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.caidp.org/cases/openai/.
15. “GONZALEZ V. GOOGLE (US SUPREME COURT 2022).” Center for AI and Digital Policy. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.caidp.org/cases/gonzalez-v-google/.
16. Howe, Amy. “Supreme Court Rules Twitter Not Liable for ISIS Content.” SCOTUSblog, May 25, 2023. https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/05/supreme-court-rules-twitter-not-liable-for-isis-content/
17. “Partner Organizations.” Center for AI and Digital Policy. Accessed July 23, 2023. https://www.caidp.org/about-2/partners/.