N.B. government unveils new AI chatbot for tourists, but not without errors
CBC
New Brunswick's tourism department officially unveiled a new artificial intelligence chatbot to help tourists plan their trip here.
It's not without growing pains, as several obvious errors appeared in the bot's answers in its early days of operation. The company that created it said this is to be expected at the start and is easily fixable.
It's really about meeting visitors where they are and where they want to find their information, said San Francisco-based Matatdor Network.
But the errors made by Explora, the chatbot, are nearly identical to those from the previous Progressive Conservative government.
On Friday, Public Safety Minister Robert Gauvin rose in the legislature and criticized Tammy Scott-Wallace, the former tourism minister from the Blaine Higgs government.
Two years ago, Scott-Wallace’s department worked with companies that ran tourism ads in Europe that featured simple factual errors about the province.
“She said that Saint John was the biggest city in New Brunswick, that it was the capital of New Brunswick. She talked about the Cherry Brook Zoo. The problem with the zoo? It’s been closed for five years!” Gauvin said in French.
However, the Liberal government Gauvin is part of had just officially launched its own tourism advertisement of sorts, featuring the same exact mistake, plus many more.
Experimenting in its first few days of operation, the chatbot made several mistakes including a claim that Saint John is the province's largest city. That title actually belongs to Moncton.
While hawking Irving Nature Park, it showed a photo of the pond hockey tournament in Plaster Rock, a three-hour drive away.
Asked what provincial parks offer lake access, the first on the list is North Lake Provincial Park. The Liberal government announced last week this would be closed due to budget cuts.
“A hidden treasure near the Maine border, this park is a [paddler's] dream,” Explora said.
The bot is not immune from the age-old adage that New Brunswick is the drive-through province, either. Asked for the fastest way to get to Prince Edward Island, Explora gives directions and then suggests visiting both provinces but leaving New Brunswick to find some seafood.
“[…] you can cross to PEI in the morning, enjoy a lobster roll by lunch, and be back in time for a sunset stroll along the Fundy coast,” Explora quipped.
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