WE SHOULD BE BUILDING SCIENTIST AI, NOT SKYNET LITE: The bad news: AI models are learning to lie to save themselves. The worst news: We’re teaching them to lie for much dumber reasons.

“FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS SORELY IN NEED OF SPECIAL PROTECTION THESE DAYS, AND THIS BOOK GUIDES ANY READER TO SUPPORT IT IN CLEAR, FORTHRIGHT, AND POWERFUL FASHION.” – FLOYD ABRAMS. Pre-order The War On Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech—And Why They Fail by Nadine Strossen & me (out July 1!)

IS HARVARD DOOMED? The university is a big enough institution to know that being legally in the right is not an ironclad guarantee that you’re always going to win.

“IN A TIME OF RISING POLARIZATION, THE WAR ON WORDS IS A VITAL REMINDER THAT FREE SPEECH PROTECTS DEMOCRACY ITSELF. Lukianoff and Strossen make a compelling, principled, and timely case.” -Congressman Ro Khanna

THE FIRST AMENDMENT IS NOT A SUICIDE PACT. No, really, it’s not.

NO, THE CONSTITUTION IS NOT A SUICIDE PACT — BUT IT’S ALSO NOT A BLANK CHECK FOR PANIC: We don’t get to infringe upon civil liberties right now because someone invokes existential angst and the possibility of crisis as though it’s a magic spell.

“ANYONE WHO IS OPPOSED TO SHUTTING PEOPLE UP BY FORCE IS BOUND TO BE FACED WITH ARGUMENTS THAT SUPPRESSING SPEECH ISN’T SO BAD AFTER ALL. But these arguments were considered and rejected decades ago, and The War On Words is a perfect handy guide on how to answer them, by a hero and heroine of free expression.” – Steven Pinker

“NADINE STROSSEN AND GREG LUKIANOFF ARE TWO OF THE FIERCEST DEFENDERS OF FREE SPEECH AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT ALIVE TODAY. The War On Words is a must read for anybody who cares about freedom of speech.” -Jonathan Haidt

WILL A.I. KILL OUR FREEDOM TO THINK?: You can now apply for $1 million in spot grants to help AI promote free speech and free thought!

FREE SPEECH DEFENDERS ARE FAMILIAR WITH COMMON “ZOMBIE ARGUMENTS” (ARGUMENTS THAT JUST WON’T DIE) AGAINST FREE SPEECH: e.g. “words are violence,” “hate speech ≠ free speech,” & “free speech is rightwing.” In The War On Words: 10 Arguments Against Free Speech—And Why They Fail (due out July 1) Nadine Strossen and I will hopefully debunk those pesky fallacies once and for all.

CANCEL CULTURE VS. MCCARTHYISM: THE DATA IS IN — Cancel Culture is happening on a historic scale, part 5

“The best way to compare McCarthyism to Cancel Culture on campus is by finding a source of data that was gathered at the same time McCarthyism was going on, in order to compare it to the data we have today. And thankfully there was a massive 1955 study by Paul Lazarsfeld that covered the number of professors dismissed during McCarthyism. According to that data, approximately 100 professors were targeted and 62 were fired during this period, either for being communists or members of the Communist Party.

“Now, compare that figure to the number of professors who have been fired on campus since the beginning of the Age of Cancel Culture in 2014. In the last decade, FIRE’s Scholars Under Fire database has logged almost 1,300 campaigns to get scholars punished for their First Amendment-protected speech. Nearly two-thirds of those campaigns succeeded, leading to censorship, suspensions, demotions, resignations, and even mandatory administrative training (remember: this is disciplinary training in response to protected speech). But to compare things more directly: From 2014-2024 more than 200 scholars ended up being fired or forced out of their positions for their thoughts and opinions.

“That’s more than triple the contemporaneous estimate of the number of communist professors fired, and more than double the estimate of professors fired overall, during McCarthyism.”

CANCEL CULTURE VS. MCCARTHYISM: THE DATA IS IN — Cancel Culture is happening on a historic scale, Part 5

‘THE CANCELING OF THE AMERICAN MIND’ PAPERBACK HITS SHELVES TODAY!: With an entirely new epilogue and FIRE’s 2025 College Free Speech Rankings!

‘THE CANCELING OF THE AMERICAN MIND’ PAPERBACK HITS SHELVES APRIL 29, AND AVAIL FOR PRE-ORDER TODAY: “A powerful and prescient book that is more relevant than ever.” — Steven Pinker.

CHECK ME AND ADGO OUT IN ‘THE FREE INQUIRY PAPERS,’ AVAILABLE TOMORROW!: Current and former FIRE staffers contribute two chapters to this who’s who of academic freedom and campus speech commentary.

HOW STATE AI REGULATIONS THREATEN INNOVATION, FREE SPEECH, AND KNOWLEDGE CREATION: While they may be intended to prevent harm, these regulations are like punishing the library for the book a bigot read rather than punishing the bigot himself.

FIRE & CO. FILE AMICUS BRIEF AGAINST DEPORTATION OF KHALIL, ‘CANCELING’ PAPERBACK HITS SHELVES APIL 29, & MORE!: Bringing you the latest free speech news (3/23/25)

THE MISINFORMATION CRISIS IS NOT ABOUT TRUTH, IT’S ABOUT TRUST: Without free speech, academic freedom, and confidence in our experts and institutions, no amount of fact-checking will help.

WEEKEND FREE SPEECH UPDATE: Maine bars congresswoman from voting or speaking in trans athlete row, FIRE tells NIH not to pull funding based on Rankings, Victories in the 9th Circuit & TN, & more!

FIVE THINGS TO REMEMBER AS THE MAHMOUD CASE DEVELOPS: The story is still developing and it’s complicated, but there are still concrete lessons to learn here.

NO MORE ‘TRUST US, WE’RE THE ADMINISTRATORS!’: Our campus free speech rankings provide an unparalleled view into campus censorship — one that administrators love to hate.

MORE TIPS FOR BEING NON-PARTISAN IN A PARTISAN AGE: It ain’t easy, it can be exhausting, and you’re not always going to get everything right. But you have to keep trying.