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An international non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

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Artificial Intelligence Researcher Blocked from Giving a Government Seminar Over Anti Government Social Media Posts

November 4, 2022

Kate Devlin, an artificial intelligence and society reader at King’s College, London, was blocked from giving a talk to a government department on women and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It would appear that this rescinded invitation is retaliation for her critique of particular government regulations on social media and online content, despite the government’s professed interest in protecting free speech on college campuses.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/oct/10/academic-cancelled-from-civil-service-talk-because-of-criticism-of-government

November 4, 2022

Rishi Sunak
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
10 Downing Street
London SW1A 2AA, United Kingdom

Dear Prime Minister Sunak:

The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers, and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.

We are writing in regard to Dr. Kate Devlin of King’s College London, who is a reader in artificial intelligence and society. She was recently blocked from giving a talk to a Government Department on women and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It would appear that this rescinded invitation is retaliation for her critique of particular government regulations on social media and online content, despite it not being aimed at the current government and despite the government saying it would do its due diligence on her background before inviting her.

The UK government has professed interest in protecting free speech on college campuses. Blocking Kate Devlin from speaking to the Government Department represents a betrayal of such policies. It does not appear to have been canceled for politically impartial reasons, as required by the civil service code.

The CCS is especially concerned that this canceled talk appears to be part of a recurring pattern of blocking academics who are critical of government officials or policies from helping to educate government employees. In particular, last year, Prof. Priyamvada Gopal of the University of Cambridge, was blocked from giving a talk about colonial history.

We write to urge your government to allow Dr. Kate Devlin and other academics to give such talks in the future unimpeded. The content of her talk does not come anywhere close to inciting violence and should be allowed to proceed.

Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. We will be closely following developments in this case.

Sincerely,
signatures
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

Cc:
Jane D. Hartley
Ambassador to the United Kingdom
U.S. Embassy London
33 Nine Elms Lane
London, SW11 7US
United Kingdom

Antony J. Blinken
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520 USA

Dame Karen Elizabeth Pierce
Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the United States of America
British Embassy Washington
3100 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008

James Cleverly
Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs
King Charles Street
London, SW1A 2AH, United Kingdom
E-mail: fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk

Filed Under: CCS Cases, United Kingdom Tagged With: Kate Devlin

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Paul H. Plotz, M.D., Washington, DC

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Astronomy – Arno Penzias, New Enterprises Associates*

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Medical Sciences – J. Joseph Blum, Duke University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deceased), Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser, Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy, University of Pittsburg

David Gross, (2004 Nobel Prize in Physics), Kavil Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara*

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Louis Nirenberg, New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Honorary Board Members

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, (1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine), New England Biolabs*

Myriam Sarachick, City College of New York

Harold Scheraga, Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Steven Weinberg, University of Texas, Austin*

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

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