Sen. Ted Cruz takes aim at foreign influence on AI policy

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is seeking information from the Justice Department to assist with a probe into whether a U.K.-based artificial intelligence organization has complied with a statute governing influence in political activities. 

According to a letter sent Nov. 21 and released publicly Monday, Cruz asked the DOJ for information about whether the Centre for the Governance of Artificial Intelligence, a U.K.-based nonprofit, registered with the department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. FARA requires that certain foreign organizations disclose information about their operations if they’re involved in political or other activities. 

Cruz pointed to the Centre’s involvement in a conference it planned to co-host in San Francisco with the U.K.’s AI Safety Institute last month, and alleged the organization hasn’t registered under FARA. He said the organization has also engaged in political activities like submitting public comments on U.S. AI policies, testifying before the Senate’s AI Insight Forum, and lobbying policymakers. 

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Centre for the Governance of AI told FedScoop the organization “is aware of the request made by Sen. Cruz to the Department of Justice, and if required, will cooperate fully with the relevant authorities.” 

They added: “GovAI is a strictly independent organisation which is committed to operating responsibly and transparently.”

Cruz is a potentially important voice on AI given his current status as the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and poised to become chairman of that panel when Republicans take control of the chamber in January. 

He has been sharply critical of the Biden administration’s work on AI and has echoed the incoming administration’s desire to repeal the president’s executive order on the technology. In his letter, Cruz also criticized European governments’ approach to the technology, calling it “extreme” and described the Centre as “seemingly” focused “on left-wing social policy.”

“For years, European governments have pursued heavy-handed regulation of U.S.-developed Internet technologies. Their targeting of one of America’s chief exports is no longer limited to European jurisdictions; they have now moved to regulate within the United States, too,” Cruz wrote.

In addition to the Centre, Cruz also called out a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and U.K. AI Safety Institutes to partner on research, safety evaluations and AI safety guidance, and a global treaty on AI that the U.S. entered in September. He called the Biden administration’s coordination with the U.K. and E.U. on AI “concerning,” given that Congress hasn’t given the executive that direction.

A spokesperson for the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, under which the U.S. AISI operates, didn’t immediately provide a comment on Cruz’s remark.

Cruz asked the DOJ for documents showing the Centre registered as an agent of a foreign principal, communications between the organization and DOJ about registration, and communications with the Centre or other foreign counterparts related to the department’s Justice AI initiative. He requested the information by no later than Dec. 12.

A spokesperson for the DOJ didn’t immediately respond to a FedScoop request for comment about the letter and whether it planned to respond.