JCPS recently started using a program developed by a firm called AlphaRoute out of Massachusetts to help with planning routes and assigning bus stop locations. The program — developed by graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — uses artificial intelligence to generate the routes with the intent of reducing the number of routes. JCPS had 730 routes last year, and that was cut to 600 beginning this year.
Based on an AI used by a supermarket in New Zealand which churns out, “recipes” with given ingredients, AI sucks at these tasks. They’re in their infancy, being told to do things they simply cannot.
Yep, I caught that right away. AI generated routes based on data that obviously did not match reality and with no input from any long time drivers.
It went spectacularly wrong. It’s really quite funny as long as it’s not my kid stuck on the bus.