Rebooting Democracy in the Age of AI

In “Building a Human Resilience Infrastructure for the AI Age,” based on insights from 386 global experts, a warning emerges: the greatest risk is not a single catastrophic event, but a slow drift toward diminished human agency, fragmented reality, and growing dependence on automated systems. Lee Raine and Janna Anderson reflect on how, as AI becomes society’s invisible operating system, individual resilience is no longer enough. The report argues for urgent, coordinated action to build resilience as shared infrastructure across governments, institutions, and communities to ensure people can still question, contest, and shape the systems increasingly shaping them.

This week on Reboot Democracy, John Wihbey and Jill Abramson draw on a year of workshops with 1,400 public-sector communicators to show how AI can accelerate research and storytelling, but in a context of declining trust, it raises the stakes. Stefaan Verhulst, PhD, and Adam Zable chart a “Fourth Wave” of open data where AI serves as an interface to authoritative data. Jorge Cesar Ramirez Mata demonstrates how #ReguLens helps organizations navigate policy overload and engage earlier in the policymaking process. Beyond Reboot, Janna Quitney Anderson and Lee Rainie warn that AI is becoming society’s invisible operating system and that resilience requires collective infrastructure. Jennifer Pahlka argues philanthropy should help governments build AI capacity and reduce vendor dependence. Research mapping eight European countries finds strong use of AI in agenda-setting but gaps in accountability. Nava Labs shows AI can improve benefits navigation accuracy, but only with sustained support. OpenAI’s blueprint proposes taxes on automated labor and public wealth mechanisms. A World Health Organization-backed effort calls for treating AI as a public mental health issue as risks grow.

Developed by the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization with and for employer organizations, ReguLens responds to a growing policy bottleneck. The rapid surge in complex, overlapping regulations is outpacing institutional capacity. Built through iterative co-creation with users across regions, the tool helps organizations analyze proposals, identify impacts, and engage earlier in policy debates.