How LLM Alignment Can Help Counteract Big Tech’s Centralization of Power

Is LLM alignment an opportunity or a risk for the health of our democracies?

In a recent piece for Tech Policy Press, I explore the dual role of Large Language Model (LLM) alignment in the struggle for information control mediated by these new technologies.

Key Points:

1. Democracy Dies in Darkness: As private institutions and powerful individuals gain more control over public discussion, the conditions for a healthy democratic debate are at risk.
2. Control vs. Decentralisation: LLM alignment can allow companies to control which types of knowledge a model should reproduce or not. It could explain behaviours such as Grok searching for Elon Musk’s tweet before answering questions. However, could it also offer a pathway toward decentralisation of power?
3. Reappropriating the Information Commons: New approaches to alignment, such as Parameter-Efficient Fine-Tuning (PEFT), might allow governments or civil societies to regain some control over what perspectives chatbots reflect and how they shape the information landscape.
4. Complex Challenges: There is no simple approach to counter the current erosion of democratic systems, and technology alone will not be the answer. However, reclaiming some agency over the content distributed online could be part of a path forward.

You can read the full article here.