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Governing AI

AI Is Infrastructure. Govern It Accordingly.

AI's Prediction Paradigm

Moana Sloane

Aug 3, 2026

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Research Radar

Bummed About AI? Democratic Societies Need Public Participation to Shape It

AI presents real risks, but disengagement leaves its future to others. Drawing on principles of negotiation, mediation, and decision-making, this essay by John Lande, Isidor Loeb Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri School of Law, argues that democratic societies should approach AI as they would any difficult dispute: by carefully weighing risks and opportunities, exercising sound judgment under conditions of uncertainty, and participating in the decisions that will shape its future. This blog is adapted from a University of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies SSRN paper.

Published on July 28, 2026 by John Lande

Article image for Bummed About AI? Democratic Societies Need Public Participation to Shape It
Research Radar

Bummed About AI? Democratic Societies Need Public Participation to Shape It

AI presents real risks, but disengagement leaves its future to others. Drawing on principles of negotiation, mediation, and decision-making, this essay by John Lande, Isidor Loeb Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri School of Law, argues that democratic societies should approach AI as they would any difficult dispute: by carefully weighing risks and opportunities, exercising sound judgment under conditions of uncertainty, and participating in the decisions that will shape its future. This blog is adapted from a University of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies SSRN paper.

Published on July 28, 2026 by John Lande

Article image for The real math crisis isn’t the test scores. It’s the test
AI and Education

The real math crisis isn’t the test scores. It’s the test

Ted Dintersmith and Beth Simone Noveck argue that America’s high school math curriculum remains rooted in the needs of the 19th century rather than the AI era. They call for replacing an emphasis on rote procedures with quantitative reasoning, statistics, probability, and decision-making skills that people actually use. The authors propose using AI to engage thousands of students, educators, parents, and employers in redesigning math education through large-scale, democratic public participation.

Published on July 23, 2026 by Beth Simone Noveck and Ted Dintersmith

Article image for The real math crisis isn’t the test scores. It’s the test
AI and Education

The real math crisis isn’t the test scores. It’s the test

Ted Dintersmith and Beth Simone Noveck argue that America’s high school math curriculum remains rooted in the needs of the 19th century rather than the AI era. They call for replacing an emphasis on rote procedures with quantitative reasoning, statistics, probability, and decision-making skills that people actually use. The authors propose using AI to engage thousands of students, educators, parents, and employers in redesigning math education through large-scale, democratic public participation.

Published on July 23, 2026 by Beth Simone Noveck and Ted Dintersmith

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News That Caught Our Eye

Reboot Weekly: Who Does the Reasoning Now?

Across elections, work, and education, AI is performing more of the reasoning people once had to do themselves. But the institutions built for a world where humans did that reasoning haven't caught up. This week, candidates learned how to influence chatbot answers before voters ever reach a website. Amazon cut another 14,000 jobs while investing heavily in AI. And a Massachusetts school district doubled down on teaching students the rote mathematics AI already performs better than humans. Meanwhile, new global data suggest AI increasingly rewards judgment while automating routine work. Reboot will take some time off in August, so an extra hefty News that Caught Our Eye this week

Published on July 23, 2026 by Beth Simone Noveck

Article image for Reboot Weekly: Who Does the Reasoning Now?
News That Caught Our Eye

Reboot Weekly: Who Does the Reasoning Now?

Across elections, work, and education, AI is performing more of the reasoning people once had to do themselves. But the institutions built for a world where humans did that reasoning haven't caught up. This week, candidates learned how to influence chatbot answers before voters ever reach a website. Amazon cut another 14,000 jobs while investing heavily in AI. And a Massachusetts school district doubled down on teaching students the rote mathematics AI already performs better than humans. Meanwhile, new global data suggest AI increasingly rewards judgment while automating routine work. Reboot will take some time off in August, so an extra hefty News that Caught Our Eye this week

Published on July 23, 2026 by Beth Simone Noveck

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Blog Posts and News

Featured image for AI Is Infrastructure. Govern It Accordingly.
Governing AI

AI Is Infrastructure. Govern It Accordingly.

As prediction increasingly shapes decisions about jobs, healthcare, education, and public services, the next frontier is how it organizes society. Drawing on the history of the railroads, this essay argues that policymakers already have a blueprint for governing essential technologies: treat AI as infrastructure, apply public oversight, and ensure that systems central to modern life serve the public interest rather than private power.

Published on August 3, 2026 by Moana Sloane
Featured image for Bummed About AI? Democratic Societies Need Public Participation to Shape It
Research Radar

Bummed About AI? Democratic Societies Need Public Participation to Shape It

AI presents real risks, but disengagement leaves its future to others. Drawing on principles of negotiation, mediation, and decision-making, this essay by John Lande, Isidor Loeb Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri School of Law, argues that democratic societies should approach AI as they would any difficult dispute: by carefully weighing risks and opportunities, exercising sound judgment under conditions of uncertainty, and participating in the decisions that will shape its future. This blog is adapted from a University of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies SSRN paper.

Published on July 28, 2026 by John Lande
Featured image for The real math crisis isn’t the test scores. It’s the test
AI and Education

The real math crisis isn’t the test scores. It’s the test

Ted Dintersmith and Beth Simone Noveck argue that America’s high school math curriculum remains rooted in the needs of the 19th century rather than the AI era. They call for replacing an emphasis on rote procedures with quantitative reasoning, statistics, probability, and decision-making skills that people actually use. The authors propose using AI to engage thousands of students, educators, parents, and employers in redesigning math education through large-scale, democratic public participation.

Published on July 23, 2026 by Beth Simone Noveck and Ted Dintersmith
Featured image for Reboot Weekly: Who Does the Reasoning Now?
News That Caught Our Eye

Reboot Weekly: Who Does the Reasoning Now?

Across elections, work, and education, AI is performing more of the reasoning people once had to do themselves. But the institutions built for a world where humans did that reasoning haven't caught up. This week, candidates learned how to influence chatbot answers before voters ever reach a website. Amazon cut another 14,000 jobs while investing heavily in AI. And a Massachusetts school district doubled down on teaching students the rote mathematics AI already performs better than humans. Meanwhile, new global data suggest AI increasingly rewards judgment while automating routine work. Reboot will take some time off in August, so an extra hefty News that Caught Our Eye this week

Published on July 23, 2026 by Beth Simone Noveck
Featured image for Information Literacy Is No Longer Just an Individual Skill
AI and Problem Solving

Information Literacy Is No Longer Just an Individual Skill

The debate about AI has focused on misinformation and AI slop, but those are only part of the story. As AI creates both unprecedented information abundance and information compression, we need a new conception of information literacy—one that encompasses how individuals reason, how communities learn together, and how democratic institutions use AI to become better listeners and problem-solvers.

Published on July 21, 2026 by Beth Simone Noveck
Featured image for Reboot Weekly: Mississippi's Framework Test, What Wars Are Fought Over, and Building UX Capacity
News That Caught Our Eye

Reboot Weekly: Mississippi's Framework Test, What Wars Are Fought Over, and Building UX Capacity

Mississippi has a statewide AI framework, but Dr. Kollin Napier argues that the real test starts the next day. In a new Reboot Democracy piece, he reflects on what it takes to move from published policy to actual adoption: sustained investment in workforce training, governance, staffing, and implementation capacity. From the AI Risk Explorer SPAR project, Elana Banin and colleagues argue that AI is pulling commercial tech firms into military operations and making cloud infrastructure, data centers, subsea cables, and AI models strategic targets. And a new piece from U.S. Digital Response and InnovateUS outlines what it takes to build UX capacity in government: not more technology, but leadership, cross-agency collaboration, and starting with residents

Published on July 9, 2026 by Elana Banin and Dane Gambrell
Featured image for Notes from the field: Building UX capacity in City government

Notes from the field: Building UX capacity in City government

Making government services easier to use doesn’t start with a website redesign. It starts by talking to residents, choosing the right first project, and creating the conditions for UX to succeed. Lessons from U.S. Digital Response’s three-part InnovateUS series show how agencies can build user-centered services that deliver measurable results.

Published on July 8, 2026 by Cindy Phan and Keith Wilson
Featured image for Research Radar: AI May Not Start Wars. But It Is Changing What Wars Are Fought Over

Research Radar: AI May Not Start Wars. But It Is Changing What Wars Are Fought Over

New research from the AI Risk Explorer SPAR project examines how AI is reshaping conflict through cloud infrastructure, commercial technology companies, and the digital systems that now underpin both military operations and democratic governance.

Published on July 7, 2026 by Elana Banin, Emily Parker, Peter Vartanian, Parul Wadhawan, Yan Zhu and Guillem Bas
Featured image for Mississippi's AI Framework Was the Starting Line
AI for Governance

Mississippi's AI Framework Was the Starting Line

Mississippi has released its statewide AI framework. The harder challenge is turning guidance into practice. Drawing on firsthand experience leading the state’s AI workforce efforts, Dr. Kollin Napier of MAIN examines why successful AI adoption depends on sustained investment in training, governance, staffing, and implementation.

Published on July 6, 2026 by Dr. Kollin Napier
Featured image for Reboot Weekly Special Edition: AI and The Race to Save Democracy
News That Caught Our Eye

Reboot Weekly Special Edition: AI and The Race to Save Democracy

Available now in print and in audiobook! "Reboot: AI and The Race to Save Democracy" by Beth Simone Noveck

Published on July 1, 2026 by Beth Simone Noveck
Featured image for From AI Adoption to Public Value: InnovateUS Fall 2026 Live Learning Series
AI and Problem Solving

From AI Adoption to Public Value: InnovateUS Fall 2026 Live Learning Series

AI adoption in government is accelerating. The next challenge is making sure it creates public value. InnovateUS’s Fall 2026 Live Learning Series explores how public professionals can move beyond using AI to measuring its impact, governing it responsibly, and ensuring it improves outcomes for the people and communities government serves.

Published on June 30, 2026 by Agueda Quiroga
Featured image for Democracy has a listening problem. These AI tools could actually help
AI and Public Engagement

Democracy has a listening problem. These AI tools could actually help

This excerpt from Reboot: AI and the Race to Save Democracy was originally published in Fast Company on June 25, 2026.

Published on June 25, 2026 by Beth Simone Noveck
Featured image for Reboot Weekly: 85% Cloud Lock-In, an AI Coach for Public Servants, and Why AI Shouldn't Vote
News That Caught Our Eye

Reboot Weekly: 85% Cloud Lock-In, an AI Coach for Public Servants, and Why AI Shouldn't Vote

Amazon, Microsoft, and Google control 85% of Canada's cloud market. In a new Reboot Democracy piece, David Eaves and Curtis McCord argue this concentration is a democracy problem, not just a competition one, because public institutions lose leverage over the infrastructure they depend on. The GovLab and InnovateUS launch an AI Coach for Public Engagement that helps public servants move from training to real project planning. And in Part II of their Habermolt response, José Luis Martí and Beth Simone Noveck argue that delegating political judgment to AI agents risks replacing democratic self-government with algorithmic authority.

Published on June 25, 2026 by Elana Banin and Dane Gambrell
Featured image for An Open Society Needs an Open Market: The Compute Problem Cities, Regions, and Nations Share
Global AI Watch

An Open Society Needs an Open Market: The Compute Problem Cities, Regions, and Nations Share

A new report from the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project argues that cloud sovereignty is about more than building domestic alternatives. It is about ensuring governments, businesses, and public institutions have autonomy and agency. Using Canada’s highly concentrated cloud market as a case study, the authors explore how procurement policy, competition rules, and interoperability standards could reduce dependence on hyperscalers and create a more competitive marketplace for compute.

Published on June 24, 2026 by David Eaves and Curtis McCord
Featured image for Research Radar: In Lobsters We Do Not Trust — The Wrong Path for AI and Democracy Part 2

Research Radar: In Lobsters We Do Not Trust — The Wrong Path for AI and Democracy Part 2

In Part II, we examine the project’s core claim that AI agents could represent citizens in democratic deliberation. We argue that representation requires more than predicting preferences, that democratic participation is essential to civic learning and self-government, and that increasingly capable AI agents risk shifting authority away from citizens and toward algorithms. Democracy depends on people governing together, not on delegating judgment to machines.

Published on June 23, 2026 by José Luis Marti and Beth Simone Noveck