Sarah Rogers: Free Speech, AI Diplomacy, and What America Owes Its Allies

May 4, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Sarah B. Rogers, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, discusses with Catherine Boyle how her office engages foreign publics through exchanges, media, and the information environment. She contrasts past State Department efforts to request content removals from platforms like Twitter and Meta with her current push for transparency, truth-seeking on prior censorship, and freedom of expression as a core diplomatic priority. Rogers frames digital freedom as vital for national security, especially amid AI proliferation and adversarial disinformation.

Defining Public Diplomacy and Its Digital Shift

Public diplomacy builds ties between the U.S. government and foreign publics, distinct from traditional government-to-government relations. Rogers oversees programs like Fulbright exchanges, rapid media responses, and information environment engagement. Under the prior administration, her office housed efforts flagged in the Murphy Supreme Court litigation, where officials urged platforms to remove content deemed disinformation, such as Charlie Kirk tweets. Post-reorganization, she leads the Digital Freedom Office, which now prioritizes user-empowered tools like VPNs for censorship circumvention and X's Community Notes, alongside combating malware and spyware. New authorities from the National Defense Authorization Act bolster these efforts, focusing on content provenance—ve

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Intro to AI Proliferation and Free Speech** - Opening emphasis on Western AI stack as soft power for freedom amid fast-changing rules.
2 (02:22) **Definition of Public Diplomacy** - Explains shift from government-to-government to US government-to-foreign publics.
3 (03:09) **Prior State Dept Censorship Efforts** - Details legacy of content removal requests to platforms and NGO funding.
4 (04:01) **Internet Freedom Abroad** - US support for digital freedom in places like Europe where access is restricted.
5 (05:29) **Historical Tech Regulation Instincts** - Compares AI fears to printing press heresy, telegraph, internet disinformation.
6 (06:20) **Changes to Digital Freedom Mandate** - New NDAA authorities; shifted from info integrity to user empowerment.
7 (07:45) **Project Maven Analogy for EU Regulation** - Parallels tech-national security awakening with AI policy battles.

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Show Notes

Katherine Boyle speaks with Sarah Rogers, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, about the intersection of AI, free speech, and global information systems. They discuss how major technological shifts, from the printing press to the internet to AI, have reshaped communication and power, and why this moment may be even more consequential.

Recorded at the a16z American Dynamism Summit, the conversation explores the role of public diplomacy in the digital age, the risks of censorship and overregulation, and how governments are approaching AI as both a national security priority and a platform for global influence. Rogers also highlights the importance of maintaining “AI with a Western soul,” and why preserving open systems and freedom of expression will shape the future of innovation.

Resources:

Follow Sarah B. Rogers on X: https://x.com/UnderSecPD

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