Rebooting Democracy in the Age of AI

What does it take to make AI useful in schools? Four Australian states are experimenting with different approaches, from helping teachers build tools that save time to giving students access to chatbots. Their experience offers lessons for other education systems: support teacher-led innovation and training, preserve flexibility across AI models, measure actual use, and evaluate effects on teaching and learning before expanding. Adapted from my essay in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, this piece explores why providing access to secure AI is not enough.

At InnovateUS, we have trained more than 250,000 public professionals in AI and innovation skills. Our Observatory of Public Sector AI introductory-course surveys reveal uncertainty about AI’s relevance, use, and rules, alongside encouraging gains in reported knowledge and confidence. The next challenge is understanding whether that learning translates into better public services and stronger trust in government.

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.