Democracy has a listening problem. These AI tools could actually help

Beth Simone Noveck has spent three decades trying to make democracy work online. What she’s learned—and why this moment feels different.

[Source Image: Adobe Stock]

BY Beth Simone Noveck

When four-year-old Joca, a golden retriever with dark soulful eyes, died on a scorching Brazilian tarmac after an airline’s tragic mistake, the nation’s outrage could have remained just another trending hashtag. But Fernando, a young man in São Paulo, submitted an online legislative proposal for “Joca’s law.” Senators held a hearing, and eventually the Senate and the House passed legislation. 

While most online engagement today amounts to clicking, liking, and sharing—what the late political theorist Benjamin Barber........

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