In July, I wrote about my new book project on AI and democracy, to be published by MIT Press in fall 2025. My co-author and collaborator Nathan Sanders and I are hard at work writing.
At this point, we would like feedback on titles. Here are four possibilities:
Rewiring the Republic: How AI Will Transform our Politics, Government, and Citizenship
The Thinking State: How AI Can Improve Democracy
Better Run: How AI Can Make our Politics, Government, Citizenship More Efficient, Effective and Fair
AI and the New Future of Democracy: Changes in Politics, Government, and Citizenship
What we want out of the title is that it convey (1) that it is a book about AI, (2) that it is a book about democracy writ large (and not just deepfakes), and (3) that it is largely optimistic.
What do you like? Feel free to do some mixing and matching: swapping “Will Transform” for “Will Improve” for “Can Transform” for “Can Improve,” for example. Or “Democracy” for “the Republic.” Remember, the goal here is for a title that will make a potential reader pick the book up off a shelf, or read the blurb text on a webpage. It needs to be something that will catch the reader’s attention. (Other title ideas are here).
Also, FYI, this is the current table of contents:
Introduction1. Introduction: How AI will Change Democracy2. Core AI Capabilities3. Democracy as an Information System
Part I: AI-Assisted Politics4. Background: Making Mistakes5. Talking to Voters6. Conducting Polls7. Organizing a Political Campaign8. Fundraising for Politics9. Being a Politician
Part II: AI-Assisted Legislators10. Background: Explaining Itself11. Background: Who’s to Blame?12. Listening to Constituents13. Writing Laws14. Writing More Complex Laws15. Writing Laws that Empower Machines16. Negotiating Legislation
Part III: The AI-Assisted Administration17. Background: Exhibiting Values and Bias18. Background: Augmenting Versus Replacing People19. Serving People20. Operating Government21. Enforcing Regulations
Part IV: The AI-Assisted Court22. Background: Being Fair23. Background: Getting Hacked24. Acting as a Lawyer25. Arbitrating Disputes26. Enforcing the Law27. Reshaping Legislative Intent28. Being a Judge
Part V: AI-Assisted Citizens29. Background: AI and Power30. Background: AI and Trust31. Explaining the News32. Watching the Government33. Moderating, Facilitating, and Building Consensus34. Acting as Your Personal Advocate35. Acting as Your Personal Political Proxy
Part VI: Ensuring That AI Benefits Democracy36. Why AI is Not Yet Good for Democracy37. How to Ensure AI is Good for Democracy38. What We Need to Do Now39. Conclusion
Everything is subject to change, of course. The manuscript isn’t due to the publisher until the end of March, and who knows what AI developments will happen between now and then.
EDITED: The title under consideration is “Rewiring the Republic,” and not “Rewiring Democracy.” Although, I suppose, both are really under consideration.
