Replicant

Inspiration

Every. Single. Individual. Is impacted by policy—yet fewer than 0.1% of constituents in the U.S. provide feedback on the very legislation that shapes every aspect of our lives. Our team brings experience across local, state, and federal policymaking, and we've seen firsthand how the current system perpetuates a cycle of bias and inaccessibility. Those who do reach out to lawmakers are often those with the most extreme viewpoints, creating a feedback loop that reflects only a narrow slice of public opinion. This is a textbook case of self-selection bias—and it’s not limited to direct outreach. The same pattern shows up in surveys, public comment periods, and other engagement attempts. As a result, a small, unrepresentative group ends up having a disproportionate influence on the laws and policies that govern us all.

What it does

At its core, Replicant is a digital, AI-powered platform that generates constituent personas using live data from the U.S. Census Bureau. These personas are designed to reflect the 99.9% of the population and help drive more equitable and inclusive policy making. Users can interact with each persona through an integrated chat feature, allowing for deeper exploration and iterative feedback based on evolving policy questions.

How we built it

We developed the frontend using React, enabling a smooth and responsive user experience. The backend is powered by Node.js with Express, and we use Supabase to manage authentication, and data storage. For AI integration, we relied on two key models: Claude and Groq. Claude was chosen for its advanced reasoning capabilities, which we use to generate rich and logically consistent constituent profiles that reference census data. This reasoning is crucial to ensuring each persona accurately reflects the complex identities and needs of real constituents. To power the live chat experience, we integrated Groq, which offers up to 10x faster response times for large language models. This speed enhancement makes real-time interaction with constituent personas seamless and scalable. Together, this tech stack allows Replicant to deliver a meaningful, data-informed, and dynamic experience that can bring underrepresented voices into the heart of policymaking.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud that we built something both functional and impactful in a short amount of time. The creativity behind Replicant—from concept to execution—reflects our team’s passion for solving meaningful problems with technology. We took on a complex challenge and delivered a product that has the potential to reshape how policymakers understand and engage with their communities.

What we learned

We learned the importance of thinking beyond surface-level functionality. It’s not enough for a product to seem like it works, rather real functionality means accounting for edge cases and avoiding hard coded shortcuts. By building with real users in mind, we were pushed to write cleaner, more adaptable code.

Challenges Faced

One of the main challenges we faced was ensuring that each constituent profile was grounded in real Census data rather than being entirely hallucinated by the AI—we were committed to preserving the integrity and authenticity of every persona

What's next for Replicant

We’re just getting started. Our next major goal is to expand Replicant beyond the United States and begin supporting international regions. Policy challenges—like inequality, climate change, and health disparities—are global in scope, and the need for representative, data-informed decision-making exists in every country. We're exploring integrations with global data sources such as the United Nations, Eurostat, and national statistical agencies to generate accurate constituent personas across different geopolitical contexts. In addition, we plan to enhance the platform’s flexibility by allowing users to upload custom datasets. This feature will empower organizations—whether NGOs, governments, or academic institutions—to generate personas based on their own localized or issue-specific data. By broadening our data inputs and geographic reach, Replicant will become a truly global tool for inclusive policymaking. Ultimately, our mission is to help every policymaker in the world understand and engage with the full spectrum of people their policies affect—not just the loudest voices.