REBOOT

AI And The Race To Save Democracy

Beth Simone Noveck

Published by Yale University Press

Democracy needs a moonshot. Reboot offers a practical blueprint.

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Democracy is in retreat at home and abroad.

Our institutions are more fragile than ever. At this delicate moment, artificial intelligence has burst onto the scene—a powerful technology that holds as much potential to bolster democracy as to harm it.

Yet we no longer treat democracy as a design challenge we can solve.We have built extraordinary tools without yet using them where they are needed most: to forge institutions that listen more closely, decide more wisely, and act more effectively.
We stand at an inflection point. Will AI tighten the grip of power—or help rebuild public institutions that work for people? Reboot offers a bold and practical playbook for tipping the balance in favor of democracy.

For technologists, public servants, researchers and civic leaders, Reboot offers a practical framework for governing AI—and for governing with it.

Table of contents

REVIEWS

Be prepared to work if you read this excellent book. Noveck makes you think about some of the hardest questions facing democracy and technology today, and I found myself revisiting my positions more than once.

Vint Cerf

Internet Pioneer

Most books about AI and democracy focus on what could go wrong. Noveck does something harder: she shows us what working right looks like. Drawing on real-world experiments, she demonstrates that AI can strengthen democracy—if we design it that way.

Jennifer Pahlka

Author of Recoding America

At a time when many fear AI will erode democracy, Noveck shows us how to make it democracy’s most powerful ally. A vital, hopeful roadmap for institutional renewal.

Audrey Tang

Coauthor of Plurality: The Future of Collaborative Technology and Democracy

Noveck has spent her career designing and deploying technology in democratic institutions, and it shows. Reboot is a clear, practical, and important book about how AI can strengthen democratic institutions when designed responsibly. Essential reading for technologists, policymakers, and citizens—anyone concerned about the future of democracy.

Bruce Schneier

Coauthor of Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform our Government, Politics, and Citizenship

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Beth Simone Noveck

Beth Simone Noveck is a professor at Northeastern University, where she directs The Governance Lab and the Burnes Center for Social Change. Previously served as Deputy Chief Technology Officer in the White House, where she led the Open Government Initiative and later , she builds and studies AI systems designed to improve public services, strengthen accountability, and expand democratic participation.