AI at Barndos: Building Smarter, Safer, and More Supportive Communities
At Barndos, we believe technology should serve people—not the other way around. In a technical field like construction and community building, accuracy isn’t optional. That’s why we’ve invested in building AI systems that don’t just give answers—they know when not to answer.
Our R&D Fellowship, designed for computer science students, is exploring AI’s role in tackling the triple threat we face:
The affordable housing crisis
The skills gap and career training needs
The urgent need for social repair
Why Accuracy Matters in AI for Building
In building and development, one wrong number can mean thousands in extra costs—or a structure that doesn’t pass inspection. That’s why we’ve built AI systems with human-in-the-loop verification.
Our AI assistants work alongside mentors and subject matter experts (SMEs) who review each response. If a question is beyond the AI’s domain, the system routes it to a human expert for follow-up, either through a live forum or a 1-on-1 mentoring session. This means no hallucinations, no guesswork—just reliable support when it matters most.
The Five AI Specialists at Barndos
We’re developing five specialized AI assistants—each dedicated to one area of expertise:
Scout – Leadership (barndosonly.com)
Marshal – Peace of Mind Guarantee (wevorce.com)
Shooter – Social Repair (theupndownbar.com)
Buck – Financial Literacy (barndobucks.com)
Duke – Building & Construction (barndobuilders.com)
How It Works
Domain Design – We organize FAQs into knowledge bases for each AI domain with best-in-class SMEs.
Routing & Review – Using platforms like Vercel and Next.js, we review top questions, route them to SMEs, and update the AI knowledge base with verified answers.
Escalation – If the AI doesn’t have the answer, it flags the question for human review and creates an opportunity for a live workshop or mentoring session.
Integration with 3 Tiers of Support – AI connects directly to our self-service tools, mentor packages, and live forums, ensuring that every question finds the right path to resolution.
Prototypes Already Live
We’ve already launched our first prototypes:
BarndosOnly.com (Leadership)
TheUpNDownBar.com (Social Repair)
Next up:
Barndobucks.com (Financial Literacy)
Barndobuilders.com (Construction)
The Long-Term Vision
Our goal is to integrate the Model Context Protocol (MCP) so our AI assistants can work together seamlessly while maintaining domain boundaries and accuracy. With MCP, we’ll be able to:
Provide on-demand support across all three tiers.
Measure impact on affordable housing, career training outcomes, and social repair metrics.
Generate noteworthy insights that help us share our progress with the world.
We’re not just using AI to build faster—we’re using it to build better, with systems that enhance trust, deliver measurable results, and strengthen the human connections at the heart of every Barndo project.
Want to see AI in action at Barndos?
Visit BarndosOnly.com and explore how we’re bringing AI, mentorship, and community together to change the way we live, work, and build.
