AI Is On The Way!

Hey folks, this is a game-changing announcement.

I've been working the past couple of weeks on implementing an AI system for TruckingTruth, and it's almost ready! I expect to have something up and running early next week, at least for testing by some of our long-time members.

The first implementation is a simple conversational chatbot that answers questions solely based on our website's information! That's the key!

As we know, there is a lot of lousy information and bad advice out there. If you ask a publicly available AI some questions about trucking, it's pulling answers from everywhere, including many sources of terrible information.

Our AI is only using our website's information and the CDL manual. I'm loading forum comments from select members, articles from our blog from select members, our truck driver's career guide, the CDL manual, and our wiki to start with. The instruction I give to AI is to answer the questions based only on the information we present. If it can't answer the question based on the information given, it will say so.

So you'll know this information is trustworthy!

I've been testing it, and this thing is just killin' it! It's impressive. I'm going to tune up the results over the weekend and see how well I can get it to perform.

This implementation will be powerful, but it's only about 1% of what I'll ultimately do with it. Eventually, I will integrate it into every aspect of the website, including the forum, the High Road, the application process, and more.

I can use it to help me build and teach advanced courses, not only like the High Road, but courses for experienced drivers, as well. I will use it to scrape websites like the FMCSA and various large trucking companies to keep our website updated with the most up-to-date information. It will use our career guide to guide people through an understanding of the industry and what it takes to succeed out there. Eventually, I will build a personal assistant for drivers on the road that will help you find truck stops based on your preferences, know the weather ahead, give you updates and reminders, find directions, and do all kinds of other stuff.

I could go on all day, but trust me, it can do a lot!

Fortunately for our community, computers will not take away truck driver jobs, but it sure will eliminate many people in the offices of trucking companies, I can promise.

As someone in the know, I can assure you AI will lead to a resurgence in trade schools because most people sitting in front of a computer today are no longer needed. Truck drivers, electricians, plumbers, and others will remain as important as ever, but office personnel (including management), scientists, engineers, x-ray technicians, marketers, and even programmers will mostly become obsolete or work as low-paid quality control overseers of AI instead of doing the actual work themselves.

So rejoice! Truck driving jobs aren't going anywhere, and AI is now coming to the forefront to help make us better drivers and make our lives easier!

You guys are gonna love this!

Next week, I expect to have some of our moderators and long-time members experiment with it to make sure the answers are up to our expectations before releasing it to everyone else. I only expect a few days of experimenting before releasing it publicly by the end of next week.

So stay tuned!

“Eventually, I will build a personal assistant for drivers on the road that will help you find truck stops based on your preferences, know the weather ahead, give you updates and reminders, find directions, and do all kinds of other stuff.”

This is what I find the most exciting about the new feature. Consolidating all this useful info here in one place. Like making TT the Amazon of trucking information websites.

Your concept is spot on, and I really like it!

What excites me would be the possible integration of historical truck parking data, real-time updates from Waze or Google Maps, and weather insights from Windy. That would be truly remarkable.

I can picture getting alerts about potential wind gusts or traffic jams that might lead to substantial delays on my routes. Moreover, having suggestions for suitable places to stay based on daily stops and optimal times to secure a good parking spot for the night would add tremendous value to the system. It's an excellent idea that combines practicality with efficiency for drivers.

As someone in the know, I can assure you AI will lead to a resurgence in trade schools because most people sitting in front of a computer today are no longer needed.

South Park covered this in a recent episode. This is just a clip compilation of it, but it's pretty spot on.

This is what I find the most exciting about the new feature. Consolidating all this useful info here in one place. Like making TT the Amazon of trucking information websites.

That's exactly the intent. The key being "good" information, not just any garbage from a random clown in cyberspace. The information we've produced over the years, coming from highly successful, experienced, professional drivers, is priceless. This community is loaded with talented, top-notch drivers, and that's the information people need for their careers.

The system will pull information from throughout the website, which will bring great conversations from the past to the forefront again. The system will also give links to all the sources it drew the information from to answer the questions, so it will be easy to dig deeper into the original sources to get more information.

Fun fact: I can make the answers come from very specific sources. If you want to know what Old School thinks about a topic, or what Turtle or Kearsey have to say about the company they work for, I can have it do that. Heck, I can even have it determine each person's personality and writing style and give the answer in their style!

Honestly, one of the biggest hurdles is using our little brains to figure out how to use what amounts to super-intelligence. Its capabilities are so far beyond ours that it takes a lot of thought to figure out how to best use it. It's like giving a Corvette to a 3-year-old; they'd love it, of course, but they'd never figure out how to use even 1% of its true capabilities.

But right on cue, Arejay (RJ) nails it:

What excites me would be the possible integration of historical truck parking data, real-time updates from Waze or Google Maps, and weather insights from Windy. That would be truly remarkable.

I can picture getting alerts about potential wind gusts or traffic jams that might lead to substantial delays on my routes. Moreover, having suggestions for suitable places to stay based on daily stops and optimal times to secure a good parking spot for the night would add tremendous value to the system. It's an excellent idea that combines practicality with efficiency for drivers.

Right on, friend! This is exactly what I'll need from you guys: a lot of very specific use cases that would make a difference in your lives on the road. Obviously, I have quite a few ideas myself, but no man can brainstorm it all. This will be a collective effort. The better ideas you guys shoot my way, the better product I'll produce. I can build pretty much anything. Coming up with the right things to build is the hardest part for me.

South Park covered this in a recent episode

That was awesome!

I hate to say it, but it's coming. You're going to see waves of layoffs over the next couple of years as companies learn to integrate AI, but the trades will still be going strong. Trucking will still be going strong.

That sounds like a huge project, Brett! Are you tackling this tech stuff solo, or do you have anyone helping you out? Based on your enthusiasm, it sounds to me like it's a labor of love either way.

Are you tackling this tech stuff solo, or do you have anyone helping you out? Based on your enthusiasm, it sounds to me like it's a labor of love either way.

I'm tackling it solo, and it's absolutely a labor of love. I'm one of those guys who can sit at a computer for 10 hours a day digging through code. I love it. It's a passion for me. Like trucking, you have to be a certain type of person to thrive in this arena. If you're not naturally drawn to it, you won't thrive, and you won't be around for long. It's just too damn hard and tedious to force yourself to stick with it.

I've written all the software that runs this website. I've configured all the servers and databases. I've done all the tech part myself over the years and I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sneak peek! I can't resist!

One thing I'm doing is using AI to convert the user's question into a more advanced and detailed question (or series of questions) that will produce better results.

Original question: Is trucking tough?

Improved version: How do truck drivers feel about their careers in the trucking industry? What are the factors that contribute to job satisfaction for truck drivers? What are some of the benefits and challenges of working as a truck driver?

AI Answer:

Truck Driver Career Satisfaction and Factors

Truck drivers have a wide range of feelings about their career in the trucking industry. Many find great satisfaction in their work, while others may experience challenges that impact their overall job satisfaction. Factors that contribute to job satisfaction for truck drivers include:

• Independence and freedom on the open road
• Opportunities for travel and exploration
• Competitive pay and benefits
• Sense of accomplishment from delivering goods across long distances
• Strong sense of community among fellow truckers

Benefits of Working as a Truck Driver

Some of the benefits of working as a truck driver include:

• Opportunity for high earning potential, especially for long-haul drivers
• Flexible schedules and the ability to work independently
• Travel and sightseeing opportunities during long-distance hauls
• Job stability and high demand for qualified drivers

Challenges of Working as a Truck Driver

On the other hand, there are also challenges associated with working as a truck driver, such as:

• Long hours and time away from home and family
• Traffic, road congestion, and adverse weather conditions
• Physical demands of the job and maintaining good health on the road
• Potential for isolation and loneliness during long hauls

It's important for individuals considering a career in trucking to carefully weigh the benefits and challenges to determine if it's the right fit for them.

Hey, now that's not too bad, eh?

WOW! That is very cool! It speaks and formulates thoughts a lot better than I can do.

My business partner is making AI bots for our website and to handle our cryptocurrency investments. Both are doing very well. If I was retired, I would help her and learn how to do that. However, I will be driving for another year or so before I come off the road. I'm just not quite ready yet.

Laura

Ok, I'm ready to let just a handful of people try this thing. I'd like to start with our moderators and experienced drivers because you'll be able to gauge the quality of the answers a little better than someone new to trucking. I'd also like some people who have been around here for a while to make sure the advice matches up with the advice we give.

This thing is in the very early stages, but it's already performing very well. It's incredibly slow, but there's nothing I can do about that. It's taking about 30 seconds to get a response, which is awful. I'm using OpenAI for the responses, the company that runs ChatGPT, and I'm hoping their response times will speed up dramatically.

If you've been around here for a while and you'd like to check it out, email me at brett@truckingtruth.com and I'll send you a link to it with some basic information.

Here we go!