seeds
Chatbots without AI
Can a chatbot-style UI work without generative AI, using decision trees, hyperlinking, and serendipity instead?
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What if a chatbot didn’t need an LLM behind it?
The idea: a conversational garden guide that helps visitors explore this site. It looks and feels like a chat interface, but everything behind it is deterministic. No generative AI, no token costs, no hallucinations. Just good design.
How it could work
- Branching dialogue: Pre-authored questions like “What are you curious about?” or “Surprise me” that lead into curated paths through the garden
- Tag-based exploration: Pick a theme, see a cluster of connected posts, follow wiki-links down rabbit holes
- Random walks: A serendipity mode that picks a post and offers “follow a thread” to hop along connections
- The UI is the trick: Chat bubbles make it feel conversational, but every response is a hyperlink, a list, or a pre-written prompt
Why no AI?
- It forces better curation and linking. The garden has to be well-connected enough to sustain exploration on its own
- It centers the content, not the technology
- No API costs, no latency, works offline
- Serendipity by design, not by hallucination
Open questions
- How much personality should the guide have? A neutral navigator, or a character?
- Can it learn from visitor paths without tracking individuals?
- Where does this live: a sidebar widget, a dedicated page, a floating bubble?
See also: knowledge-gardens-and-serendipity