The author concludes the volume with an ambitious agenda for the future, envisioning a society in 2050 where AI has been broadly beneficial. He outlines grand challenges across the AI pipeline, emphasizing ethical development to maintain democratic integrity and public trust. The vision focuses on human flourishing in a world enhanced by AI. 

The authors emphasize the importance of broad access and individual agency in realizing AI’s potential benefits. They compare AI to GPS technology and propose strategies to develop equitable and inclusive AI systems that build societal trust and deliver benefits to billions of people. 

The authors advocate for an inclusive, participatory framework that integrates diverse perspectives and fosters collaboration between technology and human society. They emphasize the importance of ecological and religious considerations in shaping a balanced future, offering an alternative to the dominant techno-ideologies of Libertarianism and Technocracy. 

As people come to rely on AI tools to answer questions, they will likely use those tools to answer political questions as well. The answers that the AI companies choose to provide, the author argues, may thus subtly but substantially influence public attitudes and, therefore, elections—especially to the extent Big Tech has been shifting from a “user sovereignty model,” in which tools (word processors, browsers, search engines) were intended to be faithful servants of the user, to a “public safety and social justice model,” in which tech tools (social media platforms, AI assistants) are designed in part to refuse to output certain answers that their creators think are dangerous or immoral. What should we think about that? 

Undue panic over AI could harm democracy more than AI itself. The author suggests that exaggerating AI’s effects might undermine trust in all media, posing a greater threat than isolated disinformation incidents. He concludes that a democratic future for AI requires transparency, accountability, and significant public investment to guide technological development. 

The author argues that law and regulation have never diagnosed and prevented social, political, and economic ills of new technology. AI is no different. AI regulation poses a greater threat to democracy than AI, as governments are anxious to use regulation to censor information. Free competition in civil society, media, and academia will address any ill effects of AI as it has for previous technological revolutions, not preemptive regulation. 

The author highlights the potential for AI to power rather than usurp human intelligence, showing how AI can improve decision-making in government and scale the practice of democracy itself. 

Diminished state capacity leads to civic disengagement as governments remain risk-averse and fail to meet public service expectations. The author advocates for understanding bureaucratic constraints and using AI to build government capacity for more effective governance.