Can AI help people vote? These Denver students think so.

Let’s face it. The official voter guide, Colorado Blue Book, can be intimidating.

And this year it’s stunning. Students in a civics class in southwest Denver suspected that was one of the reasons people didn’t vote.

They thought, what if we used artificial intelligence to make voting easier and more user-friendly?

Learning about who votes and who doesn’t, they created two powerful tools designed to help people register to vote and understand candidates and ballot measures—in multiple languages.

“I wanted to reach more people to let them know that their voice really matters and that it should be heard,” said Hector, 17, a DSST College View graduate.

The VoteWise Colorado app will guide you step-by-step through the voting process, and a chatbot will answer any questions you have about the issues on your ballot.

“The main goal was access and support for people to understand the voting process and get information to vote,” civics teacher Zach Kennelly said.

The students first asked, who doesn’t vote?

They decided they wanted the app to target young people and immigrants who are eligible to vote but might feel more comfortable using their native language. Young people have traditionally voted much less frequently than older Americans. Hispanic and Asian Americans make up the largest number of immigrants eligible to vote. Many students have family members who are naturalized citizens and have difficulty with technical language.

Right now, people can use the app and bot in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

“What promotes voting is primarily aimed at English-speaking people,” said Orion, who hopes students can expand the number of languages ​​on the app. “Now they will have the same chance to learn to vote and do all these wonderful things as everyone else in America.”

Hector, whose first language is Spanish, said seeing other languages ​​represented makes him feel “empowered” and “heard.”

Without further ado, I want to test this baby out.

Juan is helping me get started on my voting journey.

“Am I registered to vote?” – I ask.

He enters a question into the bot, and it redirects me to the official Colorado voters website, where I quickly find out where I am. If not, then I’m on the official page where I can register.

“When will my ballot arrive in the mail?” my next question.

(Already has, but I wanted to see if it would give the correct answer. Yes.)

“What’s on my ballot this year?” I’m asking.

17-year-old Marabella reads out the chatbot’s response, a good rundown of the 14 state measures I’ll be voting on, such as tax measures, constitutional rights, criminal justice issues, wildlife protections, and judicial retention and statewide races. Congress.

This simple and clear introduction. I’m starting to see how this might appeal to the younger generation who like information in small quantities.

Jenny Brundin/CPR News

Jenny Brundin/CPR News

I then start asking the chatbot about each measure, like, “Tell me more about Proposition 129.”

It talks in layman’s terms about the proposed creation of an Associate of Veterinary Technician degree, what a “yes” vote would mean, and what a “no” vote would mean.

I ask and the AI ​​responds with short and sweet pros and cons. Most importantly, fellow student Angel tells me that this is not like a Google search, which may use unreliable sources.

“We trained these bots to work with the real Blue Book and what’s in the real documents,” he said. “I think it’s a safer way to understand what’s going on.”

Users can even continue their work by interacting with a chatbot that helps them reflect on their identity as a voter.

It will also help you understand how to track your ballot and provide links to election results.

What does it mean to be an informed voter?

Gianna Geraffo’s civics class down the hall also helped create the app and bot. Right now, 18-year-old students are putting together a voting plan, while 17-year-olds are studying the ballot and doing research on the measure that matters most to them.

“I think I wouldn’t participate at all… I would also wait because they don’t teach it, you have to find out for yourself,” said Citlali, who pre-registered to vote. “It prepared me and gave me more opportunities and resources to vote.”

Jenny Brundin/CPR News

Students say many people they know don’t know how to vote or what to vote for or against. They think the app will help.

Leonard is going to help his two older nephews vote.

“I don’t know if my brother is really going to guide them, so it would be nice to just help them.”

For Geraffo, the project also brought satisfaction. She said it teaches students the ethical use of technical skills they may need in the future. And it closes the huge gap she sees in voters and civic engagement.

“Part of the reason I’m a teacher is because I want to help bridge that gap and empower students and people to realize that they have a voice and there are many ways their voice can be heard.”

Hands-on learning resonates more deeply with students

Zach Kennelly chats with his students as they test finished products for the first time. They reflect on what they like and what they can improve. Colors? Design? The students built them in just two weeks.

“Before artificial intelligence, things like this would have taken forever to create,” said Caden, who worked to ensure the app would seamlessly guide people to candidate information. “It’s becoming increasingly useful to not have to remember a code when a bot gives it to you.”

Jenny Brundin/CPR News

Many students said they didn’t like the “stressful work” of grades they do in school and preferred this style of learning.

“It gave me the opportunity to be creative,” Angel said. “It had to be something that would actually be used… something big and relevant right now… and not just some work that I needed to write down and remember for class.”

Angel welcomed the opportunity to use AI.

“It’s getting smarter and smarter and smarter, and it’s going to become more important in my life later, so I think it was important to learn about this tool, how to use it, and how to actually create something with it.” , he said.

Industry partner Tinman Kinetics, which creates software for companies that need artificial intelligence solutions, helped with the project. The students used a platform from Playlab, a nonprofit artificial intelligence company that provides teachers with access to large language models for educational purposes. Students practiced creating chatbots.

Jenny Brundin/CPR News

They also used Claude, an AI assistant that generates text content from human conversations, and code to quickly create “artifacts,” or drafts, of web pages. To tie each group’s work together, Tinman Kinetics linked all the code together using the Boxcar program.

The company’s Justin Williams said this is a unique moment in history: young people have the opportunity to shape the direction in which AI will develop.

“Future generations will judge us by what we do today with this powerful technology,” he said.

Although they’re too cool to show it, the students are happy to have their names on the credits of these two products.

As the lesson ends, Williams tells them:

“Congratulations, this (app and bot) is publicly available. It’s live right now.”

There are smiles.