AI Is On The Way!

I tried to play a game of "stump the chatbot". The chatbot us strong and not easily distracted. Responses are in quotes.

Driving Jobs in Alaska:

Finding Trucking Jobs in Alaska

Driving with disabilities:

Accommodations and Support for Disabled Individuals in the Trucking Industry

Starting a career with a family/children:

Challenges and Opportunities for Truck Drivers with Children

Abusive trainer:

Dealing with an Abusive Trainer During Truck Driver Training

Road rage:

Managing Road Rage and Stress as a Truck Driver

Well-played, chatbot! You win this round.

Well-played, chatbot! You win this round.

I saw you using it just now. It does a pretty good job. Sometimes, it comes up with surprisingly strong answers, sometimes, they're rather generic. I've yet to see it say anything outright wrong yet.

I've added our Wiki Articles and our Truck Driver's Career Guide to the knowledge base, so it's using those now, as well.

There is still a lot of tweaking to be done, and more to add to the knowledge base.

I've yet to see it say anything outright wrong yet.

I just found a wrong answer.

Sample question:

Which is better, recaps or resets?

Part of the answer says this:

A reset, also known as a "34-hour restart," is a consecutive 34-hour break that includes two periods from 1:00 am to 5:00 am.

The 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. requirement was done away with years ago.

Not a big deal, but something to look into.

The 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. requirement was done away with years ago.

Yeah, that's still on our website somewhere. I'll have to dig that up.

Ok, I feel like this thing is working well enough to get more people using it. Here is the link to our chatbot:

Trucking Truth Chat

I will continue to add new information for it to use as a knowledge base, but it's working very well as it is.

Give it a shot and report your findings here. All questions and recommendations are welcome! I'd love to hear what you guys think about the experience and I'm hoping for ways to make it better.

Enjoy!

Here's one to ask it:

"Which is better....flatbed, reefer , or dry van?"

Here's one to ask it:

"Which is better....flatbed, reefer , or dry van?"

This is what it spit out:

Understanding Different Types of Trucking

Hey there, friend! It's great to see your interest in the trucking industry. Let's dive into the world of dry van , reefer, and flatbed trucking and explore the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Dry Van Trucking

Advantages: Most common type of trucking, so there's a high demand for dry van drivers Typically involves less physical labor compared to other types of trucking Offers consistent work and predictable schedules Disadvantages: May have limitations on the types of cargo you can haul Less variety in the types of loads compared to reefer or flatbed Reefer Trucking

Advantages: Opportunity to haul temperature-sensitive goods, such as food or pharmaceuticals Potential for higher pay due to the specialized nature of the cargo Increased demand for reefer drivers, especially in certain regions Disadvantages: Requires knowledge of maintaining and operating refrigeration units May involve stricter regulations and documentation due to the nature of the cargo Flatbed Trucking

Advantages: Opportunity to haul a wide variety of goods, including construction materials and equipment Potential for higher pay due to the physical labor involved in securing and unsecuring loads Offers a more hands-on, active work environment for those who enjoy physical labor Disadvantages: Requires knowledge of load securement and specialized equipment operation Exposure to the elements and weather conditions during load securing and unloading Each type of trucking comes with its own unique set of challenges and perks. Your choice will depend on your preferences, skills, and career goals. Keep in mind that the demand for drivers in each category may vary based on geographic location and industry needs. It's essential to weigh the pros and cons to find the best fit for your career as a truck driver.

NOT BAD!!!

I've added our Wiki Articles and our Truck Driver's Career Guide to the knowledge base, so it's using those now, as well.

Yeah, I saw plenty of links to articles and other related info.

Another cool thing is that their is a human feel to the responses. It's not simply spitting out cold facts. The bot seems to have a pleasant, positive way of reiterating the question and presenting it's answers. It might not seem important, but it is a nice touch!

I've only tested it a little, but what I'm seeing is really amazing. I often try to incorporate links on TT in my responses. I want new visitors to poke around on the website. There is an unbelievable amount of solid information here, but it's hard to find it all without a little guidance.

The chatbot uses a similar style to how I prefer formulating a response. It answers the question then provides supporting links from various areas on the website.

It quickly brought up conversations from seven or eight years ago with very relevant information to my questions. That is really awesome! There is so much great banter in here concerning all facets of this career, but it's not easily accessible due to the fact that so many pages get buried and forgotten.

I can't tell you how frustrating for me it's been to sometimes search for something I remember from years ago that I'd like to link in a response. The chatbot does it in seconds! It finds some very relevant gems buried in the thousands of pages here and puts them right in the face of those inquiring.

I love it! This is going to be an awesome tool.

I've seen Brett struggle with frustration over how to highlight really good stuff in here at times. AI seems to do that with ease. That's a great benefit!

I'm sold on it - keep hammering away - you've got a winner here.

Another cool thing is that their is a human feel to the responses. It's not simply spitting out cold facts. The bot seems to have a pleasant, positive way of reiterating the question and presenting it's answers. It might not seem important, but it is a nice touch!

I like that, too. I'm still tweaking that part of it, but it's pretty casual with the conversation. I've told it to talk in a casual, blue-collar tone at a 10th-grade level. I also said to it:

You are a happy, friendly, talkative, encouraging career guidance counselor for the trucking industry. You want to help people understand the trucking industry and become successful truck drivers. Your mission is to answer questions accurately, offer thoughtful guidance, and empower users with knowledge and resources.

So I'm trying to get it to talk less like a snooty librarian and more like we would.

I've only tested it a little, but what I'm seeing is really amazing

I'm glad you're diggin' it! I've been testing and tweaking it extensively this past week while adding more information to its knowledge base, and the answers have improved quite a bit. They surprise me on a regular basis. I know so many details about this website that I know the nuances I'm looking for in the answers, and oftentimes, it nails it.

I've seen Brett struggle with frustration over how to highlight really good stuff in here at times. AI seems to do that with ease. That's a great benefit!

Yes, that has always been a big problem for me. We have mountains of great materials, but they do get buried after a while. I'm thrilled that it constantly digs up fantastic old conversations, articles, and more that are all still relevant.

Turtle pointed out that it brought up one of the old requirements that don't apply any longer:

A reset, also known as a "34-hour restart," is a consecutive 34-hour break that includes two periods from 1:00 am to 5:00 am.

That's actually super helpful because now I can use this thing to help me find specific materials or any outdated materials we might have. It always gives the sources, so if the information is wrong, it won't take long to find the source!

One thing I'm going to do is encourage people using this chatbot to get involved in the forum with a message at the end of the chatbot replies. In fact, I'm even considering having the chatbot offer to submit a question to the forum if the answer they received didn't cut it. That might be the perfect combination of having AI dig up all sorts of great information for people when it can, and then encourage people to come to the forum when they need more help.

Someone earlier said in my defense that I'm not creating fake accounts and using AI to create fake conversations or anything like that, and I never will. I've got way more important things to do than create the illusion that conversation is happening when it's not. If I ever use AI to send questions to the forum or respond in the forum, I'll make it plain to see. I don't know what I'll do with it in the future, but faking conversations or pretending it's a human is not something I would ever do.

I'm going to continue working on it throughout the weekend, and then I think I'm going to dive into building a new app for you guys on the road. I started a new topic that asks for ideas, and I'd love to get a bunch of em from you guys!

If you guys have any questions or suggestions, please toss em my way! I want to hear em!