ACLU v. NSA – FOIA Lawsuit Seeking Records About the NSA’s Use of Artificial Intelligence

Describing itself as a “leader” among U.S. intelligence agencies racing to develop and deploy AI, the NSA has been utilizing these technologies to help gather information on foreign governments, augment human language processing, comb through networks for cybersecurity threats, and even monitor its own analysts as they do their jobs. Although much of the NSA’s surveillance is aimed at people overseas, those activities increasingly ensnare the sensitive communications and data of people in the United States as well.

The NSA has been studying the effects of AI on its operations for several years. A year-and-a-half-ago, the Inspectors General at the NSA and the Department of Defense issued a joint report evaluating the NSA’s use of AI. NSA officials have also publicly lauded the completion of studies, roadmaps, and congressionally-mandated plans on the NSA’s use of AI. Despite repeated transparency pledges, the government has not released these key documents examining the impact and efficacy of the NSA’s AI tools, nor has it released records showing what safeguards for civil rights and civil liberties are in place.

The government’s lack of transparency is especially concerning given the dangers that AI systems pose for people’s civil rights and civil liberties. AI systems may amplify biases already embedded in training data or rely on flawed algorithms, and they may have higher error rates when applied to people of color and marginalized communities. For example, built-in bias or flawed intelligence algorithms at the NSA may lead to additional surveillance and investigation of individuals, exposing their lives to wide-ranging government scrutiny. In the most extreme cases, bad tips could be passed along to agencies like Department of Homeland Security or the FBI, leading to immigration consequences, watchlisting, or even wrongful arrests.

This FOIA lawsuit seeks disclosure of these pivotal records relating to the NSA’s use of AI since 2022. Without access to the requested documents, the public lacks critical information about how AI is transforming the NSA’s activities — information that is vital for a meaningful debate about how our government is utilizing powerful technologies to automate and expand NSA surveillance.