PENDLETON â Pendleton, meet Timboto.
Blue Mountain Community College recently launched an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot to improve communication with students and the community. Conversations happen online or via text message.
âTimboto is a robot version of our beloved mascot,â said Daniel Anderson, BMCCâs dean of instruction for arts and sciences.
The chatbot is the cerebral side of the schoolâs mascot, a wolf named Timber who was known pre-COVID for his high fives and hugs. His brainy alter ego, Timboto, helpfully responds to computer queries at any time of the night or day.
Such bots are emerging in academia and in many other venues. They are powered by a knowledge base of questions and answers, and an algorithm that detects nuances in the written dialogue. The chatbots learn as they go.