This is an excerpt from the authors’ new book, “Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship,” available for preorder now.

‍Imagine a digital proxy that knows your political preferences as well as you do (or better), tracks every issue on the ballot, and casts votes on your behalf in real time. This vision, once the stuff of science fiction, is quickly becoming technically feasible. Allowing AI to serve as our political proxies sounds radical, but the idea builds on a simple truth about our political system: representative democracy exists because we can’t all be in the room for every decision.

The Limits of Representation

Representative democracy requires elected officials to stand in for the collective preferences of their constituents. The most understandable reason for this is logistical: citizens don’t all have the time or ability to communicate our preferences directly, and we can’t all fit [...]

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Outline:

(00:51) The Limits of Representation

(03:44) AI Could Power a More Direct Democracy

(07:22) Extending Rights to the Disenfranchised

(09:07) Protecting the Integrity of AI-Powered Democracy

(10:30) Good AI Representation Could Make Government More Equitable

(13:36) The Risks of Overrelying on AI Representatives

(15:07) AI Proxies Should Enhance Political Engagement

(17:05) Discussion about this post

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.