Rewiring Democracy

Bruce Schneier is an internationally renowned security technologist and the New York Times bestselling author of 14 books, including A Hacker’s Mind. He is Lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, a board member of EFF, and Chief of Security Architecture at Inrupt, Inc.Nathan E. Sanders is a data scientist focused on making policymaking more participatory. His research spans machine learning, astrophysics, public health, environmental justice, and more. He has served in fellowships at the Massachusetts legislature and the Berkman-Klein Center at Harvard University.

• PrefaceIntroduction1. Core AI Capabilities2. Democracy as an Information SystemPart I: AI-Assisted Politics3. Background: Making Mistakes4. Talking to Voters5. Conducting Polls6. Organizing a Political Campaign7. Fundraising for Politics8. Being a PoliticianPart II: AI-Assisted Legislators9. Background: Explaining Itself10. Background: Who’s to Blame?11. Listening to Constituents12. Writing Laws13. Writing More Complex Laws14. Writing Laws that Empower Machines15. Negotiating LegislationPart III: The AI-Assisted Administration16. Background: Exhibiting Values and Bias17. Background: Augmenting Versus Replacing People18. Serving People19. Operating Government20. Enforcing RegulationsPart IV: The AI-Assisted Court21. Background: Being Fair22. Background: Getting Hacked23. Acting as a Lawyer24. Arbitrating Disputes25. Enforcing the Law26. Reshaping Legislative Intent27. Being a JudgePart V: AI-Assisted Citizens28. Background: AI and Power29. Background: AI and Trust30. Explaining the News31. Watching the Government32. Moderating, Facilitating, and Building Consensus33. Acting as Your Personal Advocate34. Acting as Your Personal Political ProxyPart VI: Ensuring That AI Benefits Democracy35. Why AI is Not Yet Good for Democracy36. How to Ensure AI is Good for Democracy37. What We Need to Do Now38. Conclusion

ENDORSEMENTS“This book offers a hopeful, practical vision: Technology serving the public, not the privileged. A must-read for anyone shaping our digital future.”—Audrey Tang, first Minister of Digital Affairs of Taiwan“A panoramic and thorough survey, Rewiring Democracy provides an original and imaginative take on the impacts of AI on democracy. It’s full of brilliant nuggets of extrapolation. I really enjoyed it.”—Mustafa Suleyman, CEO, Microsoft AI; author of The Coming Wave“Rewiring Democracy is the rare AI book that pairs deep technical insight with a pragmatic roadmap for safeguarding democracy and turning anxiety into action. Clear, constructive, and quietly optimistic, this is essential reading for anyone determined to steer AI toward the public good.”—Beth Noveck, Founder, The Governance Lab and Professor of Law and Experiential AI, Northeastern University“A thoughtful and rigorous exploration of democracy as an information system and AI’s potential impacts on decision making, advocacy, and governance at all levels. Essential reading for government leaders who want to strengthen democracy with emerging technologies.”—Ann Lewis, former Director of Technology Transformation Services, U.S. General Services Administration“While Schneier and Sanders are more optimistic than I am about the future of artificial intelligence and policy, you will be glad to have taken the time to read and understand their well-articulated arguments.”—Vint Cerf, internet pioneer“For AI companies or politicians to serve democracy, people must take deliberate steps. Rewiring Democracy offers a clear roadmap to help public and corporate leaders navigate through the pitfalls and promises that AI brings to democracy.”—Marietje Schaake, former Member of the European Parliament; author of The Tech CoupREVIEWS"Rewiring Democracy spans every element of democracy; from local politics to lawmaking, polls to policy, the campaign trail to the courts. And while caution abounds, sceptics of AI will be challenged by this book. The authors’ excitement for AI is infectious. Their understanding of it helps us to see beyond the deepfakes and disinformation that prevail when we discuss artificial intelligence and democracy, to its full potential of possibilities and risks."—The Irish Times"The authors present a thought-provoking, succinct, timely exploration."—Christianity Today“A dizzying list of ways in which AI could be used in politics, lawmaking, government operations and the judiciary, as well as how each of these uses could go wrong. . . . If even a fairly small fraction of the applications these authors contemplate come to pass, we’ll be looking at a world even more dramatically unpredictable than today’s.” —Bloomberg"Refreshing...I wish more authors approached the subject the way Schneier and Sanders do."—Big Think