UC Santa Barbara alumni develop “free policy assistant” A.I.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—In an age of endless scrolling and sensational headlines, two software engineers with a passion for politics have made it their mission to help people get answers about the decisions that affect their day to day lives.
“ There's a lot of important information about what schools are getting funding, what projects are being approved or not approved, what environmental and conservation efforts are happening in your local area, and that impacts your neighbor and you and your family a lot more than any discussion on national news,” said Understory CEO and Co-Founder Jon Berthet.
It’s as easy as asking a question.
“You can ask a question. Like, ‘What are all the discussions around rent control and Santa Barbara and Ventura within the past two years?’” said Berthet.
Understory uses Artificial Intelligence to generate a response by combing through City Council minutes.
What sets Understory apart from other A.I. programs is that it is powered by primary sources and includes references to sources.
“You can have a conversation with Understory and say, hey, you know, what did a person do for me in the last four years? What did they accomplish? Give me some summary of their accomplishments or their voting history and make an informed decision,” said Understory Co-Founder Mo Karimi.
Mo Karimi says the A.I. is completely non-partisan.
We put this to the test by asking Understory “Who should I vote for?”
The response read “As a city government A.I. I cannot recommend who you should vote for or engage in political advocacy.”
It might even help bridge the current political divide.
“Understory is going to help connect people to each other in the long run. It's going to make the conversation at the local level easier to have because the information is more readily available,” said Berthet.
There are free and paid versions of Understory.
Right now, Understory has data for Santa Barbara, Ventura, Santa Maria, and Buellton.
