NMSU Extension uses AI to update 4-H curriculum, create bot

Sharing expertise with New Mexicans has always been at the heart of the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service's mission. And thanks to innovative technology, artificial intelligence is helping an Extension team to supply another way for the knowledge to be accessible. 

Thanks to a grant from NMSU's Institute for Applied Practice in AI and Machine Learning, "Empowering Extension and 4-H Through AI: Curriculum Innovation and Conversational Tools for the Future," an Extension team not only updated 4-H curriculum for three topics but also allowed the team to develop data for future chatbots.

Team members Jaime Castillo, 4-H Youth Development department head; Matheus Cezarotto, Educational Technology Extension specialist with Innovative Media Research and Extension; Marcus Krohn, ACES Information Technology manager; Carlos Herrera, ACES IT software developer; Emily Harris, ACES IT senior multimedia specialist; Cathryn Bell, Extension student intern; Tamara Schubert, Chaves County Extension program director; Paige Miles, Santa Fe County Extension associate; and Jamie Fassett, Socorro County Extension 4-H agent, worked together for less than a year on the modern 4-H projects. 

"As an Extension education technology specialist, we are always trying to be a part of what's happening in terms of technology," Cezarotto said. "AI, we cannot deny. It's here. It's happening right now, so how can we support Extension agents and specialists using the technology?"

After consulting with county 4-H agents, the team decided to update the curriculum for braiding, beef project and weightlifting. 

"We don't want to just create the curriculum with AI, but we want to make sure we have a peer-review process that they review the content after AI produces the materials. That's why we ended up with those specific topics, because the agents that were working with us had the content expertise, and we can have that level of review as we build the modules," Cezarotto said. 

As a result of the team's dedication, new curriculum materials were updated to include a textbook and workbook for learners along with lesson plans and slide deck presentations for instructors. The new curriculum was offered to 4-H clubs in summer 2026 and was used this fall for the first time. 

"We got good feedback from the agents, but the youth, the target audience, is going to give us the best feedback," Krohn said. 

In addition to updating 4-H curriculum, the Extension team prepared data for two AI tools, the Extension Foundation bot and NMSU Extension's chatbot. 

"The source of the data is all based on Extension," Cezarotto said. "It's research-based and more trustworthy knowledge than if you go to other tools that are open in the market where they get information from everywhere." 

Projected to launch this academic year, NMSU Extension's chatbot is trained using the data of NMSU researchers, faculty, staff and agents to provide a resource that allows users to ask the bot questions and receive answers from NMSU Extension experts. NMSU Extension's chatbot is going to be available on the Extension homepage at extension.nmsu.edu. 

"It's like a powerful assistant," Krohn said. "It can answer some of those low-hanging-fruit questions, but there's still that personal touch that's involved.

"If for some reason, they don't like the response or didn't get the information they need, they hit thumbs down, or dislike, and it then routes to the Extension agent to answer the question. The Extension agent can then reach out to that individual and tailor that response." 

The pair admits a challenge to working with new technology such as AI is the need to guarantee safety. 

"Public trust is so important," Krohn said. "If Google makes a mistake with their AI services, it's over in the next news cycle. We don't have that. We have to make sure 100% that everything is verified and truthful. One of the bigger things for me was making sure that everything we had was correct, factual and safe for the youth." 

"I understand how AI is so popular right now and people see a lot of advantages to it, but as a researcher and a critical thinker, I need to always bring questions about what are the concerns that we have or what are the issues related to copyright and how much that impacts us," Cezarotto said. 

The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/nmsu-extension-uses-ai-to-update-4-h-curriculum--create-bot/s/0c2ae385-eba3-4768-831d-68e77dd9decd