El Paso’s first artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot answering questions about El Paso and Cd. Juárez is now available online. Amigo Bot is a conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) agent that answers questions about El Paso and Cd. Juárez. The AI can be accessed for free at: El Paso Bot.
Visitors to the El Paso AI bot can ask it any question about El Paso and Cd. Juárez. Visitors can ask questions about entertainment, restaurants, or historical figures in El Paso. The AI bot can answer any question posed to it about El Paso and Juárez. The Amigo Bot is bilingual and will accept questions and provide answers in either English or Spanish.
Because of the way AI models learn, users may experience some out-of-date responses about current event topics. AI models are trained through data sets added to their models. Because of that, the most current information is not always available to the agent. This is where visitors to AI agent can help to make it more robust. Amigo Bot learns more about current events as visitors submit questions to it.
AI agents such as Amigo Bot use algorithms to process large volumes of information. Like company employees, AI agents need to be onboarded to begin answering questions. They are not creative and cannot make decisions for you. Unlike a search engine, the AI agent can provide information and context to topics in a conversational format.
At the core of most AI agents is a model is a machine learning (ML) model that is created from large volumes of information. A well-known example is OpenAI. ML AI models are trained from large data sets to make predictions and decisions based on patterns in the data it recognizes. AI is a mathematical algorithm that recognizes data patterns and then decides on how to present it to the public based on the question that was made of it. What makes AI stand out is that the AI can adapt as more information is introduced to it.
AI agents can be used for various purposes, including generating news content or writing essays. One of the most controversial uses of AI is generating deep fakes. Deep fakes are videos created using AI that make it look like someone is saying something they have never said or participating in something they never did.
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Like every tool, AI can be misused. Last year engineering firm Arup was the victim of a $25 million fraud when an unwitting employee sent over $25 million to a fraudster after participating in a telephone call with several others. Unfortunately, except for the employee, all the other participants in the video conference call were AI-generated deep fakes.
But AI agents like ChatGPT-4 are routinely used for helping to create something. For example, in 2023, Evan Scandrett, a student at Middle Tennessee State University, used ChatGPT to help him write a song about El Paso. Other uses of AI agents include translation tools or providing access to people with disabilities.
Amigo Bot is not the first use of AI in El Paso. In 2017, the City of El Paso’s purchasing department launched Ask Laura, an AI agent designed to answer basic questions about the city’s purchasing department. However, the chatbot is no longer available on the city’s website.
In keeping with the theme of El Paso, Amigo Bot is bilingual. It answers questions in English or Spanish and offers answers in both languages. An example is the question; “Are taxes high in El Paso?” Amigo Bot responded with:
“In El Paso, property taxes are generally considered higher compared to the state average in Texas. This is due to several factors, including the local government’s reliance on property taxes as a primary source of revenue, as Texas does not have a state income tax. Sales tax in El Paso is in line with other parts of Texas, with a rate of 8.25%. If you’re interested in the specifics of how this compares to other regions or want details about how taxes affect living in El Paso, I’d recommend looking at local tax data or consulting with a local tax expert. ¿Te gustaría saber más sobre cualquier otro aspecto de la vida en El Paso o Cd. Juárez?”
Because Amigo Bot uses natural language responses, its answers are not the same in each case even if the same question is made to it. Although the facts remain the same, the answers are phrased differently, just like people tend to do.
Amigo Bot is available by following this link.
Martín Paredes is the developer of Amigo Bot.