From textbooks to text messages, applying to college is entering a new era at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College with the launch of “Arthur,” a 24-hour artificial intelligence assistant designed to make information more accessible to students.
The innovative chatbot, which operates primarily through WhatsApp, was officially introduced as a tool to provide instant responses to queries about the college, its programmes and admissions process.
Creator of the ‘Arthur’ programme, Hunter Gaillard, explained that the platform was designed with accessibility and inclusivity in mind.
“It can speak multiple languages. I assume everybody here primarily speaks English, but let’s say you had a friend who speaks Spanish or any other language, it can assist you,” Gaillard said.
Beyond written communication, Arthur is also equipped to process audio interactions.
“It can also understand both voice and text messages. It uses speech-to-text technologies and text-to-speech technologies. So, if you understand an audio message, if you don’t want to type in a long query, you can go ahead, scan the QR code, and ask it an audio,” he explained.
According to Gaillard, the system is capable of serving a large number of users at once without delay.
“It can handle multiple users at the same time,” he added.
Marketing and Communications Manager at SALCC, Nathalie Jolie-Fanis, said students were given the opportunity to test the chatbot during its launch, engaging directly with the new digital assistant.
“This morning, we had the students engaging with Arthur, asking all of their questions and they get the immediate response,” she said.
She noted that one of the most striking aspects of the demonstration was the platform’s ability to respond to simultaneous queries.
“Hunter said, if all of you ask me a question at the same time, would I be able to answer? How long would I take to answer a question? And he said, imagine if you have a platform where you can do that. And that is funneled through WhatsApp, which most people now have on their devices.”
Jolie-Fanis described WhatsApp as a natural choice for hosting the chatbot, given its widespread use.
“So, we thought it was an easy way for persons to access information. The students, everybody’s always on WhatsApp. So that is where the chatbot is located,” she said.
In addition to WhatsApp, Arthur can also be accessed through the college’s website and Facebook page, further expanding its reach.
“They can also access it through the website and through Facebook as well at this point,” Jolie-Fanis confirmed.
With the launch of Arthur, the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College is positioning itself at the forefront of digital engagement in higher education, offering prospective and current students a faster, more convenient way to obtain information anytime and in multiple languages.