Reboot Weekly Special: Beth Noveck's Reboot Launches Next Week — A Blueprint for Democratic AI

Published on June 18, 2026

Summary

Democracy needs a moonshot — and Beth Noveck's new book offers the blueprint. Launching next week from Yale University Press, Reboot: AI and the Race to Save Democracy makes the case that AI can strengthen democratic institutions when designed for public purpose, governed responsibly, and built to help governments listen, decide, and act more effectively. This special edition gathers the pre-launch conversation: Brookings TechTank with Darrell West, the Tavis Smiley Show, and Rick Flynn Presents, with feature interviews in Route Fifty and The Herald — alongside her new Reboot Democracy essay with José L. Martí, which critiques Habermolt, an experimental project that uses AI agents to deliberate and vote. Elana Banin sits down with Anya Kamenetz to ask why families have been largely absent from AI policy debates, and the Barcelona Public-Interest AI Accelerator team reflects on what it takes to train the next generation of AI-and-democracy leaders.

Upcoming InnovateUS Workshops

InnovateUS delivers no-cost, at-your-own-pace, and live learning on data, digital, innovation, and AI skills. Designed for civic and public sector, programs are free and open to all.

TUESDAY, JUNE 23 · 12:00 PM ET: Power, Place, and AI: Energy, Environment, and AI Data Centers
With Laura Jay (Climate Mayors), Michael Jung (Oregon Data Center Advisory Committee), and Jessica Shirley (PA Department of Environmental Protection). Part of the Elephants in the AI Room summer series.

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Also coming up:

June 25, 2:00 PM ET — Invisible Barriers: Disability Rights and Public Sector AI (final session of the Elephants in the AI Room series)
June 26, 2:00 PM ET — The Prompting Lab Office Hours

AI for Governance

Former New Jersey Official Argues AI Could Strengthen, Not Weaken, Democratic Institutions

Chris Teale on June 15, 2026 in Route Fifty

In an interview about her new book Reboot: AI and the Race to Save Democracy, Beth Simone Noveck argues that public debate about AI is overly focused on either existential risks or economic competition, while overlooking how AI can help governments govern more effectively. Noveck contends that rebuilding trust in democratic institutions will require not only regulating AI but also investing in public-purpose AI, public infrastructure, and workforce training that enable governments to use these tools to solve real-world problems.

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AI for Governance

The Future of AI Runs Through Families: A Conversation with Anya Kamenetz

Elana Banin on June 15, 2026 in Reboot Democracy

Drawing on discussions from the AI, Families, and the Common Good workshop, journalist Anya Kamenetz reflects on why families have been largely absent from debates about AI governance despite being among those most affected by technological change. The conversation explores how communities can move from passive recipients of technology to active participants in shaping its development, highlighting the importance of co-design, public engagement, and human relationships.

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Governing AI

The Fight Over AI Is Really a Fight Over Who Governs

Vilas Dhar on June 10, 2026 in Vilas Dhar

Vilas Dhar argues that today’s debates about artificial intelligence are fundamentally debates about power, accountability, and democratic governance. Contrasting Pope Leo XIV’s call for human dignity and moral limits with the Trump administration’s focus on technological competition and national security, he warns that key decisions about AI are increasingly made behind closed doors by governments and technology companies. Dhar contends that the central challenge is to ensure citizens retain a meaningful voice in decisions that will shape education, employment, public services, and democratic life.

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AI and Public Engagement

Can AI Help Save Democracy?

Beth Simone Noveck on June 10, 2026 in The Tavis Smiley Show

In a wide-ranging conversation with Tavis Smiley, Beth Simone Noveck discusses the central question behind her new book, Reboot: AI and the Race to Save Democracy: whether artificial intelligence will strengthen democratic institutions or accelerate their decline. Drawing on examples from participatory governance, public-sector innovation, and democratic reform, she argues that AI’s impact is not predetermined. Instead, the future of democracy will depend on how societies design, govern, and deploy these technologies to help institutions listen better, decide more effectively, and serve the public more responsively.

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AI and Public Engagement

Research Radar: In Lobsters We Do Not Trust — The Wrong Path for AI and Democracy Part 1

Beth Simone Noveck and José L. Martí on June 16, 2026 in Reboot Democracy

Responding to Habermolt, an experimental project that uses AI agents to deliberate and vote on behalf of people, Beth Simone Noveck and Jose Marti argue that the effort reflects a longstanding view of democracy that treats public participation as a problem to be managed rather than a resource to be cultivated. Rather than asking whether AI can replace citizens in democratic processes, she contends that researchers should focus on how technology can help institutions listen, learn, and solve problems with the public. At a time of declining trust and civic participation, the article calls for using AI to strengthen democratic capacity and collaboration rather than simulate it.

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AI and Public Engagement

How Technology Can Help Save Democracy

Beth Simone Noveck and Darrell West on June 16, 2026 in Brookings TechTank Podcast

In a conversation with Brookings’ Darrell West, Beth Simone Noveck discusses the themes of her forthcoming book, Reboot: AI and the Race to Save Democracy. Drawing on examples from Brazil, California, New Jersey, and public-service delivery initiatives, she explores how AI can expand participation, improve government responsiveness, and make public services more accessible. Noveck advocates a “possibilist” approach centered on democratic innovation, public-purpose AI, and the use of technology to help governments listen, learn, and solve problems more effectively.

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AI and Public Engagement

The Federal Government Should Pilot a Decision Subject Representative Program for AI Systems

Anna Lenhart on June 9, 2026 in Federation of American Scientists

Drawing inspiration from the FDA’s Patient Representative Program, Anna Lenhart proposes creating a Decision Subject Representative Program to give people affected by consequential AI systems a formal role in their governance. The proposal argues that individuals impacted by automated decisions in areas such as employment, education, housing, finance, and criminal justice should help shape procurement processes, standards development, risk assessments, and transparency requirements.

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AI and Public Engagement

Reboot: AI and the Race to Save Democracy

Rick Flynn and Beth Simone Noveck on June 17, 2026 in Rick Flynn Presents Podcast

Appearing as part of the podcast’s “Strong Women Series,” Beth Simone Noveck discusses her new book Reboot: AI and the Race to Save Democracy. The conversation explores practical opportunities to use AI to enhance civic participation and public decision-making, while emphasizing the importance of ensuring these technologies remain accountable to democratic values rather than to narrow commercial interests.

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AI and Education

The Herald: Pretending AI Is Not in Schools Could Pose the Biggest Risk

Garrett Baylor Stell on June 13, 2026 in The Herald (Scotland)

Beth Simone Noveck argues that the greatest risk to education is the refusal of educators and policymakers to understand and engage with it. Moving beyond both utopian and dystopian narratives, she advocates for a “messy middle” approach that treats AI as a tool requiring human judgment, oversight, and participation. The article explores emerging efforts to integrate AI literacy into education, highlights examples of AI supporting teachers and families, and makes the case that schools should prepare students not only to use AI but to shape how it is governed.

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AI and Education

Training Future Leaders to Shape AI in the Public Interest

Patricia Mangeol, Sunnie Gong, Rodrigo Cetina-Presuel, and Júlia Devin Altès on June 17, 2026 in Reboot Democracy

Drawing on lessons from the Barcelona Public-Interest AI Accelerator, this piece explores what it takes to prepare future leaders to translate AI principles into practice. The program, created by Sandbox Labs, UPF-Barcelona School of Management, and Norrsken House Barcelona, brought students from non-technical fields into conversation with experts across technology, law, policy, health, and digital rights. The authors argue that public-interest AI requires leaders who understand public infrastructure, procurement, democratic oversight, community needs, and the institutional conditions that ensure AI serves public goals.

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AI Infrastructure

Autonomy, Opportunities, and Challenges of Action-Taking AI Systems

Rohith Nama, Larry Medsker, and Brian Peretti on June 9, 2026 in Association for Computing Machinery

This ACM TechBrief examines the rise of agentic AI systems. The authors argue that these systems introduce new challenges that existing AI governance frameworks were not designed to address, including questions of liability, security, transparency, and accountability. The brief highlights emerging risks, ranging from prompt injection and autonomous errors to workforce disruption and multi-agent coordination failures, and calls for new standards, audit mechanisms, and policy frameworks to govern increasingly autonomous AI systems.

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