Open Arsenal

Tracking resources. Empowering citizens.

NextState is an open-source AI platform designed to help citizens understand, track, and evaluate how state-owned resources translate into tangible financial benefits. Built around the idea that public resources should directly benefit the people who live within a state, NextState models a system where government-managed assets—such as natural resources, energy production, infrastructure investments, and public funds—are analyzed and translated into projected citizen dividends. Inspired by Alaska’s Permanent Fund, it expands the concept into a broader, data-driven framework that can be applied across all states.

At its core, NextState aggregates and processes public financial data to estimate how efficiently a state converts its resources into citizen value. The platform uses AI-driven forecasting to project potential dividend payouts based on historical trends, resource performance, and policy changes. Users can input personal and household information to generate personalized estimates of what they might receive under different state systems. This makes it not just a financial tool, but a decision-support system for understanding long-term economic impact.

Beyond calculations, NextState includes powerful comparison and simulation features. Users can compare states side by side, evaluating differences in projected dividends, education quality, healthcare access, and cost of living. Migration modeling tools allow families to explore “what if” scenarios, helping them understand how relocating could affect their financial and lifestyle outcomes. These insights are designed to encourage informed, data-backed decisions about where to live and build a future.

NextState also emphasizes transparency and civic understanding. It visualizes how state resources flow into public funds and how those funds are distributed back to citizens. Through interactive dashboards, predictive models, and clear explanations, it demystifies government finance and encourages accountability. As an open-source project, it invites contributors to expand its datasets, improve its AI models, and enhance its visualization tools, ensuring that the system evolves alongside the communities it serves.