In the world of Dutch politics, navigating through the multitude of party platforms and programs during election season can be overwhelming. Traditional voting guides (Stemwijzers), with their pre-formulated stances and editorials, inspired me to develop something new. Together with Wendy van der Waal and Anne Krauwer I created the Partybot. It’s a chatbot that knows everything about the programs of the most important parties. Users can use simple language to ask questions, just as if they would use a tool like ChatGPT.

During the election season the bot answered over 11.000 questions. The bot functions as an experiment in artificial intelligence, acknowledging the limitations and occasional inaccuracies inherent in current AI models. Users are encouraged to consult sources provided with each answer, reminding them that the Partybot is an informative tool, not a decision-maker.

The Partybot was built on the open source vector database ChromaDB. It deconstructs party programs into accessible “embeddings”. When a question is posed, the bot employs this database, and uses the GPT-3.5-turbo-model to craft a clear response. This method ensures the content of the answer remains consistent, while the ‘persona’ chosen by the user – be it an angry woman or a regular bot – influences only the tone and style of the delivery.