Reboot Weekly: Procurement Power, Food Security, and the Future of Work

Published on March 5, 2026

Summary

This week on Reboot Democracy, Beth Simone Noveck argues that governments are among the largest buyers of AI yet rarely use that purchasing power to demand transparency, interoperability, and public accountability. Seth Harris examines how AI could accelerate the shift toward skills-based hiring, expanding opportunity for workers without traditional degrees while raising risks around bias. In Global AI Watch, Elana Banin speaks with B Cavello about why institutional capacity is the central barrier to addressing global food insecurity. Beyond Reboot, Meta’s $65 million election integrity push faces scrutiny as AI-generated disinformation spreads across democratic elections. Pennsylvania lawmakers are moving to regulate AI mental health chatbots. Researchers propose deliberative technologies to help Congress process civic input. Schools are rethinking assessment in the age of generative AI, and Italian regulators have ordered Amazon to halt the collection of sensitive worker data tied to AI-enabled workplace surveillance.

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.

Managing Media Relationships and Missteps – March 5, 2:00 PM ET

Open Data as a Foundation for AI Innovation – March 6, 2:00 PM ET

Simple Rules for High-Performing Public Teams – March 9, 2:00 PM ET

What Is Public AI and Why It Matters – March 11, 2:00 PM ET

AI and Elections

Meta's $65 Million Election Integrity Push Faces Scrutiny Over Scope and Transparency

Theodore Schleifer & Matt Zdun on February 18, 2026 in New York Times

Meta has committed $65 million to election integrity efforts ahead of the 2026 midterm cycle, but critics question whether the investment is commensurate with the platform's scale and influence. The funding covers AI-generated content labeling, third-party fact-checking partnerships, and expanded civic information tools. Researchers and election officials argue that without enforceable transparency requirements, voluntary corporate commitments remain insufficient to address the systemic risks AI poses to electoral integrity. The announcement comes as federal legislation on platform accountability remains stalled in Congress.

Read article

AI and Elections

The AI Videos Supercharging Russia's Online Disinformation Campaigns Daria Mosolova

Daria Mosolova on February 27, 2026 in BBC News

Russia-linked actors are using AI-generated videos to spread disinformation across democratic contexts, including elections in Poland and Moldova, and political discourse in the UK and the U.S. Campaigns such as Operation Matryoshka and Storm-1516 use synthetic voices and deepfakes to scale influence operations. Clemson researchers found each Storm-1516 narrative captured about 7.5% of related X discussions within a week, raising concerns that detection tools and platform safeguards are struggling to keep pace.

Read article

Governing AI

Pennsylvania Moves to Regulate AI Therapy Chatbots Amid Mental Health Crisis Alton Northup

Alton Northup on February 27, 2026 in ABC27

Pennsylvania legislators are advancing proposals to regulate AI-powered mental health chatbots used in schools and community health settings. The bills follow documented cases where chatbot interactions failed to escalate crises or provided clinically unsound guidance. Proposed measures would require human oversight, clear disclosure when AI is used in mental health services, and stronger protections for sensitive health data. The debate reflects growing concern that AI tools marketed as mental health supports are being deployed in high-stakes environments without adequate safeguards or clinical validation.

Read article

AI for Governance

The First Amendment Promise of Deliberative Technology: Reviving Assembly and Petition to Modernize the US Congress

Lorelei Kelly on March 1, 2026 in Toda Peace Institute

Drawing on more than 100 interviews with congressional staff, Lorelei Kelly argues that Congress’ limited responsiveness to citizens reflects an infrastructure gap rather than a lack of political will. The report distinguishes civic tech, which helps people communicate with government, from deliberative tech, which helps people think and decide together. Highlighting models such as Civil Society Field Hearings and Cortico’s Fora platform, Kelly suggests these tools could strengthen Congress’s ability to gather public input and revive assembly and petition as meaningful elements of representative governance.

Read article

AI and Problem Solving

AI, Food Security, and the Case for Institutional Reform

Elana Banin on March 4, 2026 in Reboot Democracy

In this interview, B Cavello of the Aspen Institute’s Aspen Digital program discusses findings from a survey of more than 100 food security practitioners across 20 UN regions. Institutional capacity and governance ranked among the top challenges in every region surveyed. The study also found that only 3.6% of AI-for-good projects focus on Zero Hunger, highlighting a major gap between innovation priorities and global needs. Cavello argues governments should prioritize resilience and governance capacity while directing AI development toward long-term human flourishing.

Read article

AI Infrastructure

Who Will Shape AI in the Public Interest?

Beth Simone Noveck on March 4, 2026 in Reboot Democracy

In light of the ongoing dispute between Anthropic and the Department of War, Beth Simone Noveck argues that governments are among the largest buyers of AI yet rarely use that leverage to shape the market. Instead of demanding transparency, interoperability, portability, and audit rights, many agencies accept opaque contracts and proprietary lock-in, thereby weakening democratic accountability. Noveck describes procurement as “governance by other means” and launches a six-week public conversation on how governments can use purchasing power to steer AI development in the public interest.

Read article

AI Infrastructure

South Australia Considers Sovereign AI Capability to Reduce Dependency

Matt Ryan on February 26, 2026 in InDaily South Australia

South Australia is exploring sovereign AI infrastructure to address concerns about data sovereignty, foreign dependency, and the concentration of AI capabilities among a few multinational firms. Matt Ryan, Executive Director of Democracy 2036 and Senior Fellow at The GovLab, argues that public investment in domestic compute capacity, open datasets, and locally governed systems is essential for democratic accountability and long-term resilience. The proposal reflects a broader global debate over AI sovereignty and whether critical AI infrastructure should be treated as a public interest asset rather than left solely to market forces.

Read article

AI Infrastructure

Iranian Strikes on Amazon Data Centers Highlight Industry's Vulnerability to Physical Disasters

Kelvin Chan on March 3, 2026 in AP News

Iranian drone strikes on Amazon Web Services facilities in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have exposed a rarely discussed risk of AI and cloud infrastructure: physical vulnerability to armed conflict. While disruptions were contained due to regional redundancy, experts warn that the incident highlights how critical government and digital services have become to physical data centers, which are difficult to protect against military attacks.

Read article

AI and Education

Reimagining Assessment in the Age of AI

Kristen DiCerbo on February 23, 2026 in District Administration

Kristen DiCerbo explores how AI is forcing schools to rethink student assessment. As AI tools make traditional written tests easier to game, educators are considering alternatives such as performance-based tasks, portfolios, and adaptive assessments that better measure real competencies. DiCerbo argues the challenge is not only technical but philosophical, pushing schools to clarify what they value and how learning should be evaluated in the AI era.

Read article

AI and Labor

Can AI Be Pro-Worker? The Economic Stakes of the Automation Debate

John Cassidy on March 2, 2026 in The New Yorker

John Cassidy examines whether AI can truly be pro-worker, highlighting tensions between productivity gains and job displacement. Writing amid a Wall Street selloff and citing Citrini Research’s warning of a potential 2028 recession tied to AI labor disruption, he surveys economists’ views on whether past patterns of technological adjustment will hold and who will capture the gains.

Read article

AI and Labor

AI for Skills-Based Hiring: Rethinking Credentials in the Labor Market

Seth Harris on March 3, 2026 in Reboot Democracy

Seth Harris argues that AI could accelerate the shift from credential-based to skills-based hiring by lowering the costs of assessing and matching workers’ competencies. AI-powered tools could expand access for workers without traditional degrees, but Harris warns that poorly designed systems could scale existing biases and that clear standards for AI in employment decisions are still lacking.

Read article

AI and Labor

Amazon Ordered to Stop Collecting Workers' Sensitive Data in Italy

Claudie Moreau on February 25, 2026 in Euractiv

Italy’s privacy watchdog has ordered Amazon Italia Logistics to stop collecting sensitive data on warehouse workers, including information on health conditions, union activity, and family members, gathered through attendance-tracking systems. The ruling also bans cameras near restrooms and break areas, testing how GDPR and the EU AI Act apply to AI-enabled workplace surveillance.

Read article

▲