Censorship, Artificial Intelligence, and AI Literacy: Responding to New Challenges in an Enduring Agenda for Libraries and Librarianship

Abstract

This paper focuses on AI censorship, an under addressed aspect of AI risk that intersects with the foundational library tenets of information literacy and intellectual freedom. AI censorship is a form of “automated censorship in which AI systems are used to selectively suppress or block specific types of information, content, or voices deemed undesirable to those controlling the AI.” This paper examines AI censorship in the context of existing threats and library principles. It explores specific techniques and methods of AI censorship. Lastly, it recommends adopting a critical AI literacy perspective that includes a political dimension essential to understanding AI censorship