New Books in Science, Technology, and Society

Nathan E. Sanders and Bruce Schneier, "Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship" (MIT Press, 2025)

Oct 23, 2025

Nathan E. Sanders, a data scientist and co-author of "Rewiring Democracy," teams up with security technologist Bruce Schneier to discuss how AI is reshaping democracy. They explore the diverse impacts of AI on governance, from automating legislation to influencing voter engagement. Sanders highlights the risks of power centralization and contrasts the US and EU approaches to AI regulation. He urges the public to guide AI development towards enhancing democratic values, revealing how technology can both empower and challenge traditional power structures.

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INSIGHT

AI In Government Is Already Widespread

Governments already deploy thousands of AI applications across agencies, making AI governance a present, not future issue.
The Biden administration's inventory of 2,000+ AI uses revealed wide, active adoption across federal agencies.

ANECDOTE

Mapping Bills To Citizens With AI

Massachusetts built Maple to let residents read plain-language summaries and submit testimony for thousands of bills.
Sanders describes using AI to auto-summarize ~8,000 bills so citizens can engage with legislation at scale.

INSIGHT

Models Carry Developers' Values

Different AI models reflect developers' values and may encode political leanings rather than being truly objective.
Users, including judges, will see ideological 'fingerprints' from the AI assistants they adopt.

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AI is changing democracy. We still get to decide how.
AI’s impact on democracy will go far beyond headline-grabbing political deepfakes and automated misinformation. Everywhere it will be used, it will create risks and opportunities to shake up long-standing power structures.
In this highly readable and advisedly optimistic book, Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship (MIT Press, 2025), security technologist Bruce Schneier and data scientist Nathan Sanders cut through the AI hype and examine the myriad ways that AI is transforming every aspect of democracy—for both good and ill.
The authors describe how the sophistication of AI will fulfill demands from lawmakers for more complex legislation, reducing deference to the executive branch and altering the balance of power between lawmakers and administrators. They show how the scale and scope of AI is enhancing civil servants’ ability to shape private-sector behavior, automating either the enforcement or neglect of industry regulations. They also explain how both lawyers and judges will leverage the speed of AI, upending how we think about law enforcement, litigation, and dispute resolution.
Whether these outcomes enhance or degrade democracy depends on how we shape the development and use of AI technologies. Powerful players in private industry and public life are already using AI to increase their influence, and AIs built by corporations don’t deliver the fairness and trust required by democratic governance. But, steered in the right direction, AI’s broad capabilities can augment democratic processes and help citizens build consensus, express their voice, and shake up long-standing power structures.
Democracy is facing new challenges worldwide, and AI has become a part of that. It can inform, empower, and engage citizens. It can also disinform, disempower, and disengage them. The choice is up to us. Schneier and Sanders blaze the path forward, showing us how we can use AI to make democracy stronger and more participatory.

Nathan E. Sanders is a data scientist focused on making policymaking more participatory. His research spans machine learning, astrophysics, public health, environmental justice, and more. He has served in fellowships at the Massachusetts legislature and the Berkman-Klein Center at Harvard University.

Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network.

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