The Klondike Chatbot communicates with ONU students via text messaging. Students receive messages from “Klondike” to the cell phone number listed in their Self-Service Banner personal information section. Provided by Student Support Services, the Chatbot sends out campus updates, event information and also checks in on the well-being of students. While it is a great attempt to utilize technology to disseminate information and interact with the student body, Chatbot notifications are just another one to swipe off the screen and tediously delete later; an unwelcome addition to the pre-existing mountain of irrelevant emails and notifications that students are already fighting through their inboxes to clear out.
The Klondike Chatbot was included in the “COVID-19 Response Information and Resource Guide” provided by ONU to navigate through the pandemic. The guide indicated that the Chatbot would keep students informed and updated. While the intentions are pure, the information obtained from the Chatbot is the same information being presented in emails that are sent out to all ONU lists.
An Arts & Sciences student stated, “I get triggered whenever I get a message from this […] bot. I hate it because it’s not a real person, so at the end of the day it doesn’t really care about you. It’s as annoying as an ad before a Youtube video. I already get the emails that have all this info, so why am I getting more? One day, I just had to text ‘STOP’ back.”
While the Chatbot is not a real person, responses to the Chatbot may warrant a real person to contact students. Messages from the Chatbot will occasionally inquire of a student’s mental health, or well-being. Believing this was artificial intelligence communicating with them, students would respond back, with their unfiltered feelings. Then, they would be contacted by someone from the school recommending resources to assist them. While the Chatbot has provided minimally invasive opportunities to check on the well-being of students, it can be embarrassing for students to spill the intimate details of their souls into their text box to a seemingly inanimate chat bot and then have a live person message them to see if they need help. While the feature is practical, it would have been better for students to be informed that the chatbot is monitored and is not simply automated messages being sent out.
“I get triggered whenever I get a message from this […] bot. I hate it because it’s not a real person, so at the end of the day it doesn’t really care about you. It’s as annoying as an ad before a Youtube video. I already get the emails that have all this info, so why am I getting more? One day, I just had to text ‘STOP’ back.”
– Anonymous Arts & Sciences Student
Klondike Chatbot is a well-intentioned use of modern technology to communicate with students, but it is missing the mark. The frequency and redundancy of messages are becoming more annoying than they are convenient and helpful. Perhaps the Chatbot would be better received if the ONU email lists were cleaned up so that email inboxes were not already overwhelmed with excessive information. If the Klondike Chatbot was available in a realm with fewer emails, it would be a very useful tool in streamlining events on campus and other important information. However, as it stands, it is redundant, invasive and not as efficient as it could be. With some minor adjustments, and perhaps more information provided to students regarding communications with the text messaging service, Klondike Chatbot may be better received by students.