Building the next generation of civic engagement with Hakivo, the app I'm currently building for the @LiquidMetalAI AI Champion Ship Hackathon Most policy tools were built either for lobbyists with enterprise budgets or for citizens willing to dig through dense PDFs and clunky sites. That gap leaves millions of people under-informed and underrepresented. Hakivo is an AI-native civic engagement platform that turns complex federal and state legislation into plain-language summaries, audio briefings, and personalized policy feeds for everyday citizens, journalists, educators, and small nonprofits. It combines the data depth of enterprise tools with the accessibility of consumer apps. Here’s how Hakivo stands apart in the civic tech landscape: - AI bill intelligence for everyone: Deep, section-by-section analysis of federal and all 50 state bills using advanced AI, going beyond “basic summaries” to real context, stakeholder impacts, and pros/cons. - Audio-first experience: NPR-style daily and weekly briefings generated with modern TTS models, built for people who prefer podcasts over policy PDFs. - Truly personalized policy feed: A news and legislation feed tuned to your policy interests (like environment, healthcare, or education), not a one-size-fits-all dashboard. - State coverage at no extra cost: While many platforms either ignore statehouses or put them behind enterprise paywalls, Hakivo includes all 50 states from day one via modern legislative APIs. - Consumer-grade UX, professional power: Built on a modern stack (Next.js, AI-native infrastructure), Hakivo delivers features you’d expect from tools like Quorum or FiscalNote without the five-figure price tag or steep onboarding curve. In a market where enterprise platforms optimize for government affairs teams and legacy sites focus on raw data, Hakivo’s mission is simple: democratize legislative intelligence so anyone can understand, track, and act on the policies that shape their lives. If you’re an engaged citizen, journalist, educator, local advocate, or small nonprofit exploring better ways to follow legislation and teach or report on policy, I’d love your feedback on Hakivo. @pahlkadot

Can we use AI to make people better citizens, not just better consumers? More than 70% of Americans fail a basic civic literacy quiz. Only half can identify which branch of government passes laws. Just 22% of eighth-graders reach "Proficient" in civics. These aren't just statistics—they're a wake-up call about the state of civic engagement in America. Over the past few days, I've been building CivicPulse as part of the @LiquidMetalAI 's AI Champion Ship Hackathon—a civic knowledge platform that uses AI not to create more noise, but to foster genuine understanding of how our democracy works. Here's what makes CivicPulse different: 🏛️ Real-time Congressional Tracking – Direct integration with Congress.gov to follow legislation as it happens 🎧 Legislative Digests – AI-generated audio briefings that break down current bills in plain language, with context that matters (using @elevenlabs) 📚 Historical Context Podcasts – Two AI-generated series exploring presidential legislative legacies and the 100 most significant laws from the 1940s-2000s 👥 Representative Tracking – See what your elected officials are actually doing and how they're voting 💬 AI Chat – Have conversations with legislation to dive deeper into specific provisions and understand real-world impact The bigger question I'm exploring: Can we use AI to make people better citizens, not just better consumers? Most AI-generated content is optimized for engagement, clicks, and ad revenue. But what if we used the same technology to tackle civic disengagement? To make complex policy accessible? To connect historical context to current debates? CivicPulse is my attempt to prove that AI can serve the public good—that we can build tools that inform rather than distract, that educate rather than manipulate. I'm building in public and would love your perspective: • What are the biggest barriers you face to staying informed about legislation? • Would you use audio briefings to understand bills during your commute? • What would you want to ask an AI about a piece of legislation? This is more than a hackathon project—it's a bet that technology can strengthen democracy instead of undermining it. 📖 Read the full story on my Substack: tarikmoody.substack.com/p/ca… 💻 Follow the build on GitHub: github.com/tmoody1973/civicp… #CivicTech #AIforGood #Democracy #PublicGood #BuildInPublic #SocialImpact #EdTech #Innovation