DHS to use Google AI for FOIA redactions

US Customs and Border Protection, part of the Department of Homeland Security, will use Google's AI tools to recommend redactions on Freedom of Information Act requests. GitHub documents seen by the Washington Post describe the plan. By the end of September the AI will cover documents making up more than 10 percent of FOIA requests, or roughly 100,000 to 140,000 cases.

DHS employees will still review each AI-flagged case before it goes out, the documents state. The goal is to ensure requesters get "accurate and complete" information. The documents add that the automation is expected to cut how long processing takes.

The Post separately found redaction tools in use or in development at other agencies. The Interior Department uses Microsoft software to flag attorney-client material. The Justice Department uses a tool called aiWARE to redact video, and the push follows its use of redaction software on millions of Epstein files.

The Health and Human Services department is building its own tool, called FRED, to redact unidentified information. "FDA is responsibly exploring limited uses of AI" to help staff process records faster, a spokesperson told the Post. A FOIA expert at the University of Florida said the government should be watched closely on how it uses AI in redactions, calling it "a very powerful tool for secrecy."