AI chatbot could bring accessibility of resources to Pleasant Hill neighborhood

Two students from Mercer University and Wesleyan College joined forces to build an artificial intelligence model intended to preserve history and bring local resources to the Pleasant Hill community.

Carmen Benjamin and Simone Russell, interns for Francis and Wade Consulting, recently unveiled the creation of an AI chatbot at City Hall, which acts as a “digital front porch” that they say brings information to residents’ fingertips that they wouldn’t ordinarily have access to. 

Users can interact with the chatbot — asking questions like, “Where can I find free meals in Pleasant Hill?” — and receive up-to-date information, addresses, links and organizations where they can seek assistance.

The chatbot takes information curated from residents of Pleasant Hill to offer a “culturally responsive” experience. 

The AI tool is meant to bridge gaps within the community and address the delays in the spread of information and resources for the historic neighborhood, which was founded in 1879 and once home to many of Macon’s Black middle class families, according to Benjamin.

The construction of Interstate 75 in the 1960s divided Pleasant Hill’s infrastructure, Benjamin said, which affected the community’s prosperity.

“What’s important here to understand is that they weren’t getting the information because of that kind of infrastructure, the kind of inequity,” she said. “That happens in a lot of predominantly Black areas, unfortunately.”

In developing the chatbot, Benjamin and Russell studied how other federal and state agencies are using AI in public service and collected data from residents.

They hosted several interactive labs with community members to gain a better understanding of the type of information they’re seeking, as well as the traditions and stories they’d like to see highlighted by the chatbot.

The two interns noted a focus on history, health, housing and food accessibility and trained the chatbot to be responsive to such topics.

Of the local residents Benjamin and Russell surveyed, more than half expressed interest in Pleasant Hill’s history.

They aimed to develop a chatbot that can be used by all ages and even trained the program to sound like a neighbor and member of the community. The goal, Benjamin and Russell said, was to speak with the community, not for the community. 

Additionally, they said they believe AI is not meant to be an enabler, but a resource requiring education on how to safely use it. 

The two interns worked with the owner of Francis and Wade Consulting, Tonja Khabir, who previously worked with Bibb County to develop a coalition of community members and a Pleasant Hill action plan. They also collaborated with Teri Garstka, director of the social innovation lab at the University of Kansas.

“What they’ve built with and for Pleasant Hill is tangible proof that our next generation is thoughtfully considering ways to bridge the past and the future for the benefit of their community,” Garstka said in a video message during the project’s presentation at City Hall.

The new AI resource is still in the prototype stage, but will be featured on the landing page of the Pleasant Hill community website.