I sincerely believe that this is the biggest threat democratic forms of government have ever faced. This form of government depends heavily on a public that places some level of trust in its institutions, and are free of targeted campaigns of mass manipulation.
So... we should deploy "AI" tools from the author's CIA-backed startup [1] so that we can have an "effective campaign in pursuit of truth that requires a set of guiding principles to inform the types of speech that should be permitted in digital town squares?"
No. And thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Nevertheless, the issue does need to be addressed in some way...and not necessarily in a top-down fashion.
It pays to be skeptical of what you read, within reason [1].