"In Rewiring Democracy, cybersecurity expert Bruce Schneier and data scientist Nathan Sanders offer a welcome middle path by focusing on practical politics. In a heartfelt, if workmanlike, way, they craft a framework for maximizing the democratic potential of AI. Yet, by shrinking and distorting the vexing political challenges that the world faces today to fit a single solution - AI - they short-change the frustrating glories of living together as human beings."
"Structured clearly enough, even for readers who know little about AI, the book is rich with concrete examples and absorbing speculation. Schneier and Sanders propose that every aspect of democratic governance - such as negotiating procurement contracts, drafting legal briefs, producing local news or facilitating conversation across political divides - could be enhanced by the thoughtful application of AI developed under public control for public benefit."
""Entrenched elected officials, political movements with authoritarian tendencies, and the billionaire class all regard AI as a new tool to consolidate and centralize power," they write. "But the rest of us, the public, can harness it as a tool to distribute power instead." For example, a personal "army of AI minions" could extend individual power by making it easier to speak out. AI agents could make political decisions on our behalf, guessing our preferences on the basis of past behaviour and communicating them swiftly"
AI under public control can maximize democratic potential and serve public benefit by enhancing many governance tasks. Every aspect of democratic governance—negotiating procurement contracts, drafting legal briefs, producing local news, and facilitating cross-partisan conversation—can be improved through thoughtfully applied AI. Personal AI agents could amplify individual voices, infer citizens' preferences, and communicate those preferences to representatives. Powerful interests and authoritarian-leaning movements may use AI to consolidate power, creating political risks that demand institutional safeguards. Overreliance on AI as a single solution risks overlooking human complexities and the intrinsic values of collective civic life.
Read at Nature
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