Rebooting Democracy in the Age of AI

A reflection from Rob Asaro-Angelo, Senior Fellow at the Burnes Center, from the 2026 Code for America Summit on why optimism in government depends on implementation. Drawing from conversations on procurement reform, service delivery, and AI in the public sector, the piece explores how public servants across the country are turning institutional frustration into practical change and why hope becomes credible when people have the tools, authority, and persistence to make systems work better.

In an article originally published in The Times (Scottish Edition), Beth Simone Noveck argues that AI’s most important democratic use is helping governments listen. Drawing on examples from Camden and Scotland, the piece explores how AI could help public institutions process large-scale public input, strengthen participation, and rebuild trust at a time when governments face rising demand and declining capacity.

What if the State acted on what it already knows about you, rather than waiting for you to fill out a form? In a new commentary, Beth Simone Noveck previews Gustavo Maio's new book and argues that moving toward zero-click government requires a double-click on participation. Zachary Florman shows how The Capitol Wire turns scattered congressional documents into real-time legislative intelligence. Pompeu Fabra's Rodrigo Cetina-Presuel, Marco Tello, and Jose Martinez-Sierra examine why Ecuador's judiciary paused the use of AI in Indigenous-language cases. This and more from this week's Reboot News That Caught Our Eye.