VTS magazine

TryTank Research Institute has launched an artificial intelligence (A.I.)-powered chatbot designed to answer questions about The Episcopal Church.

AskCathy draws responses from more than 1,000 sources from The Episcopal Church website, as well as indexed publications from Episcopal Church publisher Forward Movement, and the general knowledge base of ChatGPT.

In most cases, AskCathy will reveal her sources, linking to relevant documents and articles to ensure she only provides appropriate and useful responses, and resists answering inappropriate requests. She will refuse to perform actions that could be harmful or embarrassing. These features have been rigorously tested to ensure safety. 

Cathy stands for Churchy Answers That Help You, and she is designed to be approachable and user-friendly, making it easy for seekers, new members, or anyone curious about The Episcopal Church to find answers. She was developed in in collaboration with the Innovative Ministry Centre at the Toronto United Church Council (TUCC).

The Rev. Dr. Lorenzo Lebrija, Executive Director of TryTank Research Institute and Chief Innovation Officer at VTS, said: “AskCathy represents a significant step forward in how we can engage with those seeking knowledge about The Episcopal Church. Her ability to provide reliable information in an accessible way is a game-changer.”

AskCathy can provide assistance in a variety of ways, such as answering general questions about church services, hymns, Christian formation resources, or anything else related to The Episcopal Church, as well as explain TEC’s position on various issues, ranging from poverty to interfaith dialogue to homosexuality. In her response, AskCathy will also provide historical and theological context. AskCathy can also provide liturgy assistance by recommending readings or hymns from the Book of Common Prayer and the Hymnal 1982.

Users can ask questions in a natural, conversational manner and receive clear, contextual responses. AskCathy not only locates the relevant information but also explains it in an easy-to-understand way. What makes AskCathy even more accessible is her ability to understand and respond to questions in multiple languages, including Spanish, French, Portuguese and Chinese, opening up the resource to non-English speakers to learn about TEC. Users can also request AskCathy simplifies her language for children or presents answers with more complex or concise language.