A 2021 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) meeting surfaced on Twitter recently in which administrators described plans to use artificial intelligence to help “combat harmful content” and “promote equity” in national archive documentation.
In a short clip shared by Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY), Chief Innovation Officer of the National Archives Pamela Wright says that “many of the permanent records of the Federal Government are inherently biased.” This sparked incredulity by Massie and others who say using AI to correct historical bias would be downright Orwellian:
Chief Innovation Officer of the National Archives, Pamela Wright talks about using Artificial Intelligence to rewrite history to eliminate the “inherent bias” in the existing records.
During the recorded meeting, Wright promoted the “ethical use of AI” to generate “self-describing records” that will help mitigate bias in all of NARA’s work. The implications of modifying historical records or their descriptions to be more palatable for current language activists is chilling to many.
Multiple tweets responded to the clip with a quote from George Orwell’s 1984.
He who controls the present controls the past. He who controls the past controls the future.
Statements like Wrights are especially concerning to conservatives and history lovers in light of a recent “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights” released by the Biden Administration. This Blueprint directs federal government agencies to use AI to “advance equity” and avoid deepening “inequalities already present in society against ordinary people.”
Wright has long been proud to push for diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion and was part of the Archivist's Task Force on Racism. In a 2020 interview with Government Executive, Wright said, “I have been and continue to be responsible for pushing the envelope on numerous technologies at NARA.”
“The work we do really goes kind of unsung; it's kind of under the radar,” Wright stated, following news about the FBI’s search of President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. “It’s very quiet until it becomes threatened and then all of a sudden, you know, yeah, we come in the news.”
NARA has lately been in the public spotlight amid controversy over classified documents both Trump and Biden were found to have. The National Archives received public reactions from all sides in praise and criticism for its role in the Trump case. Many believe that agencies like NARA have become too politicized.
As the nation's record keeper, NARA is charged to be a nonpolitical agency. But Wright's comments, along with other policies and strategic goals have left people suspicious of politicized agendas within the agency. Even former president Trump called out activism in NARA during a speech following his arraignment on Wednesday.
“The National Archives and Records Administration, which as of this date is a radical left trouble making organization that red flags the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights as dangerous and triggering,” Trump said.
Mainstream news outlets immediately fact checked many of Trump’s statements as “false,” and NARA’s own website offers this warning message over the digital record of the US Constitution:
Potentially Harmful Content Alert: The Catalog contains content that may be harmful or difficult to view.
The archives page is filled with comments decrying the use of a trigger warning as unnecessary and un-American. However, NARA appears to be fully committed to “improving” history according to modern equity standards.
NARA’s website states it is already “revising descriptions and standardized sets of descriptive terms” that contain “racist, sexist, ableist, misogynistic/misogynoir, and xenophobic opinions and attitudes.”
The question of political bias is not only generating discussion in regard to government agencies like NARA. Many people are questioning the neutrality of AI itself. Users all over the internet have tested and described apparent left-wing bias in the popular chatGPT program.
In addition, Elon Musk and other artificial intelligence experts recently released an open letter urging a pause in AI development, citing potential risks to society. The letter stated that, “Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable.”
The controversy continues to swell as people debate and discuss the possible impacts of AI on the future. While there are many differing opinions on all sides and across many industries, it appears that government agencies like NARA are prepared to embrace AI going forward.
