This piece originally appeared in Reason.
Expression has never been more convenient. Censorship has never been easier.
From research papers on arXiv to mukbang videos on YouTube, digital content is easily accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Meanwhile, authoritarian regimes, enterprising bureaucrats, and the self-appointed speech police work to hide heretical ideas and shape information flows.
Expressive freedom is foundational to America. Our forefathers were experts at writing scandalous articles, drawing salacious cartoons, and distributing satirical pamphlets. Some of this was done with their real names, but many preferred anonymity. Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton were some of the original anonymous shitposters.
People always bemoan advances in technology, usually claiming that each new medium creates problems requiring the state to step in and protect incumbents. Generative AI is such a technological advance, and many are working to tame its expressive potential. Limiting AI would mean accepting a more sanitized and controlled world, as well as capitulating on America's value of expressive freedom.
