Michael Adams
@m_atoms
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studying government and building tools to make it better 🌉📈
San Francisco, CA
Joined April 2019
Introducing a new type of civic tech made possible by AI. Every citizen should have a live, systems view of their government and today we bring that to SF!. Track gov entities, spending, news, and more in real time. With LLMs, we can bring this to every city. Who's next?
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Check out the announcement post for more info and to apply: You'll also learn how to make the most of the best civic tech available:
writing.civlab.org
A civics class delivering expertise on the SF city government. Applications for cohort 7 are open until September 17!
Introducing a new type of civic tech made possible by AI. Every citizen should have a live, systems view of their government and today we bring that to SF!. Track gov entities, spending, news, and more in real time. With LLMs, we can bring this to every city. Who's next?
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Applications for cohort 7 of How SF Government Works are open now until September 17! . In seven weeks you can learn how your city works and find the levers to change it. Join us to get serious about government in San Francisco and have fun doing it 🌉📈
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RT @JoinEdgeCity: Amazing to see the progress Michael and CivLab have made with this product since sharing the early ideas at Edge Esmerald….
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RT @danielgolliher: FYI we’re bringing this to NYC. 2026 is going to be wild. Congratulations @m_atoms on the brilliant product launch, and….
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Read more about our plans here:
writing.civlab.org
Tools for good government in the age of AI
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One year ago today I launched v1 of the gov graph, which is also how I met @maskys_. He cold DM'ed me after seeing the post, and we've been working together ever since. If you like what we're building and want to help usher in good government in the age of AI, hit me up.
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Some of my favorite features are the latest news summaries, interactive budget donut, and departmental spending breakdowns - including contracts to non-government entities like nonprofits. Check it out here:
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"What if political capital is the friends we made along the way?". Man, do I have great news for you 👯
If you want your government to be different, you need the power to change it. Political capital is the currency of power in the civic ecosystem. Political capital = domain knowledge + social relationships. Most people are broke. Once you can measure it, you can plan to get more!
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If you care about your city and your world, you should try to acquire power. But authenticity is hard to fake, so don't be a grifter. There's an unlimited amount of interesting things to care about. Find the one you like and pursue it earnestly.
If you want your government to be different, you need the power to change it. Political capital is the currency of power in the civic ecosystem. Political capital = domain knowledge + social relationships. Most people are broke. Once you can measure it, you can plan to get more!
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There are many paths available, but they all have the same fundamental requirements:. 1. learn how the system you want to change actually works.2. do it with friends and neighbors. Simple as.
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If you want your government to be different, you need the power to change it. Political capital is the currency of power in the civic ecosystem. Political capital = domain knowledge + social relationships. Most people are broke. Once you can measure it, you can plan to get more!
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Does anyone else feel like LLMs have made them *better* at thinking? I feel like I’ve become more methodical and precise with my own “context” because of how I prompt.
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NYC friends take note!.
This fall I will be teaching two anchor classes:.- Foundations of New York (cohort 13).- Foundations of the Liberal Arts (cohort 1). Applications are open from now until September 10. Each class is 12 weeks, 10 sessions. Final exam on December 13, taken all together.
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Notice this article is not a dunk on "tech bros" using AI to replace government, even though cynicism is so popular post-DOGE. Why?. Because that's not what happened! Good tech was expected, but winners were chosen for potential long-term civic impact. This is the way forward.
Civic excellence is in the news again. Some CivLab alumni and their friends organized a civic tech hackathon that drew 200+ people, including @bilalmahmood and others from City Hall. The organizers were thoughtful in bridging tech and the civic ecosystem, and the reporters took
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Civic excellence is in the news again. Some CivLab alumni and their friends organized a civic tech hackathon that drew 200+ people, including @bilalmahmood and others from City Hall. The organizers were thoughtful in bridging tech and the civic ecosystem, and the reporters took
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And on that note, new tools dropping soon!.
📢 Good news - we secured funding for the next phase of the Gov Graph!. We're rebuilding the UI and adding 100x more data, including:.1. budget and spending.2. key personnel profiles.3. meeting info and legislative activity. More announcements coming soon, so stay tuned! 🌉📈
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We are officially so deep in the data that the city needs us to disclaim that we are not actually part of the government. Feels like a good milestone 🌉📈
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