By: Adam Marshall | September 30, 2026
“Something clearly needs to change. After more than a decade of litigating requests for journalists and news outlets, I am acutely aware of FOIA’s problems and their effect on newsgathering. And after talking with countless government employees at mediations, conferences, and committees over the years, I understand many of the complexities within the government that have contributed to FOIA’s delays. But before introducing a radical new technology we must be clear-eyed about what we are trying to achieve, how we will mitigate risk, and the red lines that cannot be crossed. In short, we need a FOIA AI framework. I have endeavored to sketch one out here.”
Marshall’s proposal has two parts:
1) assess the risk ahead of time, and
2) empirically test whether AI helps or hurts transparency.