Rewiring Democracy: How Scientists and Engineers Can Help Steer the Future of AI & Democracy

In myriad democracies around the world, AI is already influencing the drafting of legislation, regulatory enforcement, judicial rulings, and public discourse. These changes raise big questions: Who writes the rules in an AI age? Who benefits? And how do we ensure the public, not just corporations or autocrats, has a voice? In our new book, Rewiring Democracy (MIT Press), we argue that we, citizens of democracies, have agency to determine the answers to these questions. And scientists and engineers have a special capacity and responsibility to lead the reform of the AI ecosystem, resist inappropriate uses of AI, and fight for the renovation of institutions vulnerable to disruption by forces wielding AI for their own interests rather than the public good.

Speakers:
Bruce Schneier is an internationally renowned security technologist and the New York Times bestselling author of fourteen books, including Data and Goliath and A Hacker’s Mind. He is a Lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, a board member of EFF, and Chief of Security Architecture at Inrupt, Inc.

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 and the Massachusetts legislature and the Berkman-Klein Center at Harvard University. You can find his writing on AI and democracy in publications like The New York Times and The Atlantic.

Date: 16 January 2026, 18:00 (Kyiv time)
Format: online (Zoom + live at https://www.facebook.com/po.useit)
Registration: https://forms.gle/oiEiewN4rZJ8SetbA