Hear more from John Stamm, founder and CEO of Hello Citizen, on The BizSTL Podcast.
Since the golden age of science fiction, artificial intelligence has entailed a bit of existential horror, with computer scientists like Claude Shannon warning, “I visualize a time when we will be to robots what dogs are to humans.” But what if, in the near term, AI meant were all able to skip through tiresome meetings or better identify and address inequities?
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Enter Hello Citizen, a new St. Louis–based AI startup seeking to create a more democratic information landscape. In 2021, John Stamm left his job as chief of staff for Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and considered his next move. His time in government made him realize that citizens typically only see the end result of the political process. However, if people better understood how governments come to their decisions, that knowledge could be of real civic and economic value. This led to the creation of Hello Citizen, an AI tool that helps voters, government staff, and businesses stay abreast of hundreds of different issues in local and state government. The service metabolizes data from the public record and spits out concise recaps of meetings, debates, and the tangled workings of government.
“No one person can keep track of everything that goes on in these meetings,” Stamm says. “We can finally solve that with AI.”
How does it actually work? Start with the AI tool’s foundation, which consists of a massive dataset of general information generated by deep-learning neural networks. Additional datasets are stacked atop that foundation: One layer of general American politics, then a portrait of Missouri’s regulatory system, then a whole discourse on St. Louis City versus St. Louis County.
Next, AI needs to be taught increasingly specific lessons. Anyone who’s attended a board of aldermen meeting knows that just because a lot of time is dedicated to a certain subject does not necessarily mean it’s important or interesting. AI needs to learn that rule—an hour spent discussing voting procedure does not equal significance to Hello Citizen’s end user, especially if the voting results are the big story. There are bugs to work out. Stamm admits the service has a tenuous grasp on people’s names. But in theory, the more data that Hello Citizen absorbs, the more accurate it will become. With a big enough database, Stamm envisions adding a chat function.
“I could say, ‘Tell me the jurisdictions that are proposing changes to privacy of dental records,’” Stamm says. “And it would tell you these 12 counties throughout the Midwest talked about that in the last six months.”
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Hello Citizen specializes in five Missouri locations: St. Louis City, University City, St. Charles County, Kansas City, and Lee’s Summit. Each city was chosen based on initial interest by testers and provided opportunities to study ways that the software could be implemented and marketed. Stamm also hopes to train the model for use in federal committees and department meetings, as well as to expand access into languages such as Spanish and Bosnian.
Similar AI products are also live; Fireflies generates general meeting summaries, while PolicyEngage and Electo Analytics track legislation at the state and federal level. In contrast, Hello Citizen is operating at a hyperlocal level, relaying the information that impacts the average voter’s daily life.
“I originally thought governments would be the clients,” Stamm says, “but I think there’s more value in the individual citizens and businesses.”
AI is ultimately just a tool, and Hello Citizen is wagering that a more accessible, nutritious diet of civic information will show that its advancement can lead to positive results.
MORE TO KNOW
IS ANYBODY WATCHING?
THIS MEETING COULD HAVE BEEN AN EMAIL
Both St. Louis City and County governments post recordings of their various departmental meetings to YouTube. They range from press conferences and committee meetings to legislative reports and liquor application hearings. But it’s clear from the public view counts that not many citizens are regularly tuning in to what’s happening when local government assembles.
City of St. Louis
582 total videos posted in 2023
MOST VIEWED: Board of Aldermen, Jan. 13, 2023 (843 views)
LEAST VIEWED: Legislation Committee, Sept. 12, 2023 (9 views)
St. Louis County
188 total videos posted in 2023
MOST VIEWED: Collaborative Budget Meeting, Jan. 24, 2023 (116 views)
LEAST VIEWED: St Louis County Human Relations Commission Meeting, March 10, 2023 (1 view)
