Welcome to our new “Kalamazoo River Watershed Document Information Navigators” (“KazooInNators” for short) page, where we are beta-testing document-focused chatbots that we created using OpenAI technology. Why are we doing this? We know that there is a lot of great information in large reports and documents about plans and activities taking place in the Kalamazoo River watershed. And we know that downloading and reading those documents can be daunting. So, we are testing out chatbots built to help you answer basic questions about these documents. Our goal is to help all members of the public get a better basic understanding of what that document is about before downloading the document file to dig deeper into the details.
Our first KazooInNator chatbot is focused on the Kalamazoo River Watershed Management Plan, a document that the chatbot summarizes this way (we approve of the summary:)):
The Kalamazoo River Watershed Management Plan (KRWMP), developed by the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council and updated in 2015, serves as a comprehensive framework for managing water resources in the Kalamazoo River watershed. The plan addresses various challenges related to water quality, land use, and ecological health, aiming to unify efforts among stakeholders and promote sustainable practices.
Try it out by typing a question or request into the box. Here are some ideas:
“Summarize this document”
“List the main sections of this report”
“What are the key water quality problems discussed in the Plan?”
“What does the Plan say about the Kalamazoo River Area of Concern, or AOC?”
“What does the Plan say about the Lake Allegan phosphorus TMDL?”
“What are some things homeowners can do to help improve water quality?”
“Provide that last response in language suitable for middle school students”
“Provide that last response in Spanish”
You may occasionally get a response that goes like this – “Oops! Something went wrong on our end. Please try again later.” If so, try rephrasing the question. If you get a strange answer after a long wait time, or a message that the request “timed out”, try again a little later. We also know that chatbot responses can be inaccurate, but our experience so far is that the responses are accurate enough to make this a useful tool for learning about the report and its contents. We plan to build more. We encourage everyone to download the actual document, and pursue deeper answers to their questions. We would also like your feedback if you decide to try it out. Click HERE to fill out a Google survey form to let us know your thoughts, or send an email directly to krwc@kalamazooriver.org. Lastly, while there is no charge to use the KazooInNators, there is a background cost for making them available. If you want to support the KRWC in this and other initiatives, click the “Give Now” button on this page to make a donation via PayPal. Thank you!