Rebooting Democracy in the Age of AI

New Jersey’s AI tool reached 106,000 more eligible children for summer food benefits, matching records across programs so no family had to fill out a form. In The New York Times, Beth Simone Noveck draws on that case, California’s post-wildfire listening tool, and the UK’s Consult platform that sorted 50,000 public comments in two hours to argue that AI can repair broken institutions and restore public trust. Also this week: Anirudh Dinesh traces today’s AI hype back to the 1920s invention of “halitosis,” Trump launches America.gov as a federal AI front door, and Newsom signs seven of nine union-backed AI bills.

In a New York Times guest essay, Beth Simone Noveck makes the case for putting A.I. behind every public servant. She draws on examples from New Jersey, California, the U.K., South Korea and South Australia, and calls for three investments: training the public workforce, giving workers secure access to multiple models, and using government purchasing power to build open, accountable A.I.

After the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, California's Office of Data and Innovation used Engaged California to gather more than 1,300 resident comments. AI helped turn that input into 19 policy options, which residents then deliberated over and ranked. Jeffery Marino explains how clear ownership, with state agencies, local governments, and community groups acting together with support from the Governor's office, turned those priorities into a five-part recovery action plan.