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Civic Chat: Talk to your phone in your own native language to learn how NYC government works, candidate positions and ballot questions -powered by AI

Avatar: Ken Granderson Ken Granderson
Idea Submission for The People's Money:
Civic Chat will be a multilingual, AI-powered mobile app that helps New York City residents learn how local government works, what ballot questions mean, and where candidates stand - in their own native language. The app will eliminate barriers to civic knowledge by using real-time translation, speech recognition, and a conversational interface to make complex political information easy to access and understand. New Yorkers will be able to ask Civic Chat about their elected officials, compare candidates’ views to their own, and receive plain-language summaries of ballot initiatives. The platform will draw on public records, official websites, and news sources - flagging potential bias and providing full transparency about where information comes from. Civic Chat will be nonpartisan, free to use, and designed for accessibility across languages and literacy levels. It will be open sourced so that developers, researchers, and civic tech advocates (such as those in NYC’s “tech for good” ecosystem like All Tech Is Human) can contribute to and expand its impact. By making civic knowledge accessible to everyone, Civic Chat will empower more New Yorkers to participate meaningfully in local democracy. To see a proof of concept that explains city and state offices in over 100 different languages, please visit https://civicchat.nyc if you are using Windows 10 or 11 with Microsoft Edge. If not, watch the demo video at https://links.blackfacts.com/civic-chat.
What is the problem your idea aims to address?
Too many New York City residents - especially immigrants, limited-English speakers, and those unfamiliar with the U.S. political system - lack access to clear, accurate, and inclusive information about how city government works, what elected officials do, and what ballot questions mean. Some voter resources are often only available in English and Spanish, excluding many thousands of New Yorkers who speak other languages. In addition, these materials are frequently text-heavy, jargon-filled, and not designed with digital accessibility or mobile-first users in mind. This creates a serious digital equity gap in civic education - shutting out people who want to participate but don’t have tools that meet them where they are. Civic Chat will bridge this gap using AI-powered real-time translation, speech recognition, and plain-language summaries. It will deliver personalized, multilingual civic information through an intuitive mobile app, helping residents navigate elections and local government in a way that is as simple as talking to your phone. This project will be led by myself - Ken Granderson - a Bed-Stuy born MIT Alumnus who put Boston’s Black communities online in 1996, and returned to Bed-Stuy several years ago to continue my forward-thinking community technology work back home in Bed-Stuy. Google “Ken Granderson” to learn more about my work.
Which groups does your idea focus on? Select all that apply
Youth (under 24)
Older Adults (65 +)
Public Housing Residents
Justice Impacted People
People with Disabilities
Limited English Speakers
Immigrants / Migrants
Veterans
LGBTQIA+ People
Parents
Unhoused People
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