Meet the Library's New Chatbot!

Chatbots have demonstrated success in banking, travel, and customer service generally. And now they're moving into libraries as well. Always innovative and forward-looking, the Gallagher Law Library has launched a chatbot of its own. We're calling her Ms. G.

Marian Gould Gallagher,
the original "Mrs. G."

The chatbot will expand your access to responsive, reliable assistance. Unlike librarians and library staff, Ms. G is happy to answer questions in the middle of the night and throughout three-day weekends. With just a slight decrease in speed, the chatbot can even respond to several students or professors at once.

Of course, everyone is pleased that this move will free up the money from a couple of salary lines.

Unfortunately, budget considerations preclude contracting for top-of-the-line AI from IBM Watson. Instead, Ms. G is running on a four-year-old PC that has been sitting idle since most of the staff started working at home. Ms. G might be a teensy bit slower than some other chatbots, but will still get the job done. (We'll miss hearing the inside story of Watson's Jeopardy! triumph, but we can still hang out with our friends who rock the Burke Trivia night each month.)

We're excited to share with you representative transcripts from the usability tests of our chatbot. 

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Test One

 

I need help formatting citations.

Use The Bluebook: A Uniform System
of Citation, 21st ed., 2020.

Yes, but I don’t understand it!

Understand what?

The Bluebook.

Use The Bluebook: A Uniform System
of Citation, 21st ed., 2020.

Need help with a white paper.

You can buy white paper at
officedepot.com

How do I cite a white paper from AI Now?

I am using AI now.

I give up.

Thank you for using our service.
Would you like to take a survey
about your experience?

                       

Hello? Hello? 

                       

 

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Test Two

 

I need USC.

University of Southern California or
University of South Carolina?

I want the federal code.

There are many federal codes.
The National Security Agency has
declassified some code-related
documents. See https://www.nsa.gov/
News-Features/Declassified-Documents/
NARA-Releases/

I need the statues.

Ah, an art lover. Do you want
a museum or a gallery?

Statutes! Statutes!
(Stupid autocorrect.)

No need to get agitated.
Autocorrect is a good friend of mine.

Oh, sorry. Where's the USC?

University of Southern California or
University of South Carolina?

Never mind. I'll figure it out.

Thank you for using our service.
Would you like to take a survey
about your experience?

                       

Hello? Hello? 

                       

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Test Three

 

When will I be able to visit the
library?

I don't know. That answer
is not in my database.

Can you be more specific?

Yes, chatbots, like all AI systems,
are limited to the data they have
been trained on.

Well, thanks for that.

Thank you for using our service.
Would you like to take a survey
about your experience?

                       

Hello? Hello? 

                       

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We are very pleased that not a single user in our pilot expressed dissatisfaction with the chatbot. One person who reviewed the study noted that comparatively few people chose to take the survey, but we believe that that is because they were so satisfied with the service. They certainly had every opportunity to comment.

And of course this is just the beginning. The beauty of machine learning is that Ms. G will continue to learn as she responds to more questions and becomes familiar with the UW Law community.