Acknowledgments

In this volume, a distinguished group of authors contribute their unique voices and perspectives on the topic of how artificial intelligence may alter our society and democracy. Each article presents a compelling vision grounded in expertise. We thank the authors for taking on this challenge, for sharing their insights and ideas that will spark both academic and policy conversations about the role of digital technologies and the future of AI in a democratic society. 

This volume would not have been possible without the generous support of Project Liberty Institute and its founder, Frank McCourt, and the contributions and insights of the Institute staff led by Tomicah Tillemann and Jeb Bell.

The work in this volume benefited from the comments and input of a diverse group of generous reviewers and advisors, who gifted us their time and expertise. They provided thoughtful comments, participated in a conference to workshop the selected articles, and provided formative insights throughout the editorial process. These individuals include Jon Atwell, Christof Brandtner, Joshua Cohen, Bill Dahut, Sean Donahue, José Ramón Enríquez, Sam Fankuchen, Henry Farrell, Howard Gardner, Vern Glaser, James Grimmelmann, Andrew James Grotto, Anika Heavener, Daniel Ho, Young Mie Kim, Anton Korinek, Lisa Lacasse, Mark Lemley, Megan Ma, Houda Nait El Barj, Gina Neff, Ali Noorani, Josiah Ober, Paul Pfleiderer, Alex Poscente, Erica Robles-Anderson, Johann Shudlick, Rebecca Slayton, Mitchell L. Stevens, JP Vergne, and Wilson Wong. The process of bringing this edited volume into existence demonstrates the benefits of collaboration between academics from different disciplinary fields, together with non-academics, including leading voices from civil society, philanthropy, and industry.

Stanford University’s support took this project from an ambitious idea to reality. We acknowledge the pivotal role played by the Stanford Office of Development, which was instrumental in helping us articulate the vision from the outset and shepherding the process to ensure we could carry out this important work. We extend our deep gratitude to Kathy Veit, Krysten Hommel, and Maura McGinnity. Additionally, we thank Rob Reich for his thought partnership in the early days of developing this project. 

Much appreciation is due also to the teams supporting our faculty leads, whose efforts were crucial in bringing this idea to fruition. These include Christie Ko, Megan Deason, and Shawneric Hachey from the Stanford Digital Economy Lab and especially Susan Young, who tirelessly orchestrated activity across every aspect of this project. We also thank Tara Wright, David Havasay, and Michelle Pualuan from the Stanford Cyber Policy Center; and Stephanie Hall, Caroline Beswick, and Laureen Schieron from the Hoover Institution. A special thank you goes to the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence communications and events team, including Carolyn Lehman, Kaci Peel, Madeleine Wright, Annie Benisch, and Michael Martin, for organizing key events that facilitated idea development and dissemination.

We also acknowledge Eden Beck for her meticulous copyediting and Alexander Atkins for his exceptional design and production work, both of whom graciously worked under time pressure to bring this volume to completion.

Photo credits
Wikimedia Commons, Library of Congress, AAD/Firefly