By Steve Hubrecht
A local entrepreneur recently pitched Radium Hot Springs council on the idea of using artificial intelligence (AI) to handle queries from village residents.
The pitch came from Radium resident Richard Golany and Bighorn Global Agency, a digital marketing company, during last week’s Radium council meeting.
Golany asked councillors to consider buying an AI program (or ‘bot’) to help the village with tasks such as running its website and handling resident inquires. He said it could “revolutionize” the village’s customer service, would cost a fraction of employing a human representative, and could answer most routine everyday questions that local residents might pose village staff.
“How many random questions do you get each day?” asked Golany, pointing out having a bot answer those would free up staff for more complex and creative tasks.
He explained that he has already created a prototype human-like AI bot for the village’s website, giving it the name ‘Jane’.
Golany started up Jane and asked two questions, one on how to obtain information on short-term rentals (STRs), and then another on what to do if you see an injured animal.
Unfortunately Jane, although speaking in a human-like voice, did not answer either question during the demonstration, replying “I totally understand, what can I help you with?”
This provoked a few chuckles from some audience members at the meeting. Golany wryly noted “that wasn’t very good,” but quickly added that any glitches could easily be fixed.
Radium mayor Mike Gray asked if any other B.C. communities were using the program.
Golany replied none so far, noting the program is still very new, just three months old. “A lot of people are scared of it,” he added. He again extolled the benefits of using AI, comparing the difference between a human representative and a AI bot to the difference between an axe and a chainsaw.
“Humans can’t remember everything,” said Golany, adding AI can “save everybody time.”
Speaking to the Pioneer after the meeting, Gray explained that although Radium councillors didn’t jump at the chance to buy the AI bot, that doesn’t mean it won’t ever be a reality at the village office.
“As a mayor and council, we’re interested in hearing from any members of our community,” said Gray.
When it comes to AI answering the phone lines at the village office “we’ll see the way the trends go. If it’s used with great success in other communities, I’m open to any new ideas.”
