New Orleans Will Use AI To Answer 911 Calls Instead of a Human (shreveporttimes.com)
- Reference: 0184901342
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/26/08/08/2155204/new-orleans-will-use-ai-to-answer-911-calls-instead-of-a-human
- Source link: https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/louisiana/2026/07/28/is-new-orleans-using-ai-to-answer-911-calls-instead-of-human-dispatchers-impacts-emergencies-crime/91065014007/
> The Orleans Parish Communication District (OPCD) is currently testing out the new tool designed to reduce the volume of calls human dispatchers must handle, which is over a thousand emergency calls a day. New Orleans implemented AI in April to answer 311 calls for non-emergencies. The AI was trained and programmed to provide information to callers, as the OPCD says 50% of 311 calls are for information, [2]according to GovTech . AI is now answering 911 emergency calls in Louisiana's largest city and one of the cities with the highest call rates in the U.S.
>
> The OPCD is using Carbyne's AI Emergency Call Triage, with triage being the process of analyzing and prioritizing emergency calls. The AI system assesses incoming calls and can provide immediate feedback to callers. This is intended to handle the increase of calls that are related to one incident, so callers get automatically routed to an AI agent who asks if they are calling regarding the incident. If the answer is yes, then callers can receive information or updates, and if it's no, then the callers are transferred to a human. This combats multitudes of calls piling up and taking longer time to potentially answer an emergency call. The OPCD said the AI will not be used to handle emergency calls, only to direct such calls to a human dispatcher.
[1] https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/louisiana/2026/07/28/is-new-orleans-using-ai-to-answer-911-calls-instead-of-human-dispatchers-impacts-emergencies-crime/91065014007/
[2] https://www.govtech.com/artificial-intelligence/new-orleans-is-latest-to-answer-nonemergency-calls-with-ai
How does it work (Score:2)
For multiple issues in an area. Unless they're using location data there must be hundreds of incidents that multiple people report. Or do you have to wait out the list of incidents before you can report your stroke?
Re: (Score:2)
The E911 system has included location data since... well since you don't know that, and you're on a website for nerds, since before you were born. If you were older, hackers getting arrested for "stealing" E911 related documents was kindof a big thing that everybody talked about. For various reasons.
There's a few books about it that nerds all read.
Mark my words today... (Score:5, Informative)
This WILL lead to some of the largest wrongful death lawsuits EVER paid out by a city or municipality. Period. This shit IS NOT ready for primetime folks. Not when LIVES are on the line. SMH!
Re: (Score:2)
Dispatchers are usually the lowest paid employees next to lunch ladies. It's never been considered a critical service, collecting taxes and laundering the money is the primary mission.
Re:Mark my words today... (Score:4, Interesting)
> Dispatchers are usually the lowest paid employees next to lunch ladies. It's never been considered a critical service, collecting taxes and laundering the money is the primary mission.
Yet they are sometimes some of the more capable people around. Calmly getting the information needed by first responders, giving callers the most practical advice that can be offered from a telephone. The dispatcher I knew was former military, a communications specialist in a headquarters unit, connecting people in the field with command during combat.
Re: (Score:2)
911 operators make above median wage in most states. In Louisiana, $45,373 compared to $31,138 median (individual). Median household is $60,756.
Re:Mark my words today... (Score:4, Insightful)
If I had to guess they are probably going to structure this so that it targets poor neighborhoods who are less likely to have the resources to sue. You can do that by breaking up a city into subsidies or parishes or what not. Which is exactly why you see that so often. Rich people like to have the services of a large city but they don't like the pay for them because well you don't get rich paying for things you get rich making other people pay for things for you. So wealthy people will split their part of the city off so they don't have to pay taxes while enjoying the services of the rest of the city
As always it's a big club and you ain't in it.
Re: (Score:3)
That's why property taxes pay for schools, so rich neighborhoods have nice schools and poor ones have crappy schools. Schools in Benton Harbor, MI, haven't been painted in 20 years and some classrooms are unusable because of roof leaks. Three hours away the high school in Gross Pointe Shores has a heated swimming pool and they go on class trips to Europe.
Re: (Score:2)
Yep. The world is a gruesome place. And people can be nasty. Also shortsighted. And ignorant. Those kids that they are allowing to live in poverty are going to cause problems for them. Eventually those kids will empower some psychopathic dictator and the first thing they will do is go around murdering what's left of the upper middle class along with the educated. You see it every time a dictator comes along and takes a bunch of hopeless people being abandoned and tells them they're going to get their proble
Fucking Clankers Are Gonna Kill Us (Score:2)
Whomever came up with this idea needs to be flogged.
Re: (Score:3)
You are too kind.
Likely an improvement (Score:3, Informative)
As someone who once had to call 911 in New Orleans, handing it over to AI would likely be an improvement.
Oh goody (Score:5, Interesting)
I've been stuck with one of these AI driven voice systems for a semi emergency just 2 months ago, a random tire in the middle of a busy freeway. Got stuck in an infinite loop on the "menu" and couldn't report it at all. Hopefully no one crashed.
We NEED AI! (Score:3)
We need AI to handle the increased volume of calls caused by more extreme weather events caused by massive energy consumption caused by AI data centers...
Obligatory (Score:3)
What could possibly go wrong?
What the fuckity fuck fuck fuck (Score:2)
How much did they bribe the local politicians to allow this travesty? Because every single one of those fuckers is out of office the next cycle and they have to know that so it had to have been enough money but it was worth more than a current political position they have.
I am so sick and fucking tired of stupid people letting stupid shit happen because they're stupid. If people would pay attention to voting and stop worrying about trans girls in sports or whatever nonsense you are currently being distr
Re: (Score:3)
Thinking this is going to get New Orleans local officials in trouble is a little naive, as the tales of corruption in that town are truly epic.
This is a town where drinking in public is encouraged, as is women showing their titties in exchange for beads. It's a deeply weird place to live and the residents all understand that.
I wouldn't have actually been surprised to hear that NO doesn't have any human 911 operators even *before* AI.
It's New Orleans, bitches! (Score:1)
This is 100% on-point behavior. Black lives matter, yo! Lulz.
Well this is shit (Score:5, Interesting)
I remember a few years ago a woman called 911 pretending that she was calling a pizza restaurant. The 911 operator picked up on that and sent some police cars to free the woman from her armed captor. Speech recognition systems are good, but I doubt they'll ever pick up on a situation like that.
Re: (Score:2)
> I remember a few years ago a woman called 911 pretending that she was calling a pizza restaurant. The 911 operator picked up on that and sent some police cars to free the woman from her armed captor. Speech recognition systems are good, but I doubt they'll ever pick up on a situation like that.
Are you crazy? The AI will easily pick up on that.
> Make delicious homemade pizza using simple dough made from flour, warm water, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil. Top it with crushed tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, and your favorite toppings, then bake it hot until crispy.
> Classic Pizza Dough Recipe
>
> Ingredients:
> 1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
> 1 1/2 cups warm water
> 3 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour
> 2 tbsp olive oil
> 2 tsp sugar
> 1 tsp salt
>
> Instructions: Mix warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until bubbly.Add flour, olive oil, and salt. Stir until a dough forms.Knead by hand for 5 to 10 minutes until smooth.Let the dough rise in an oiled bowl for 1 to 2 hours (or overnight in the fridge for best flavor). Stretch the dough, add your sauce and toppings, and bake at your oven's highest setting (around 450F to 500F) for 10 to 15 minutes.
what... could... possibly... go... wrong ? (Score:1)
prepare for massive lawsuits
That will kill people (Score:3, Interesting)
Case from the UK some while ago: Nurse called calmly for her husband having a heart attack. System detected calm and put her on hold. Husband died.
Re: (Score:2)
Some consider this a feature, not a bug.
Re: (Score:2)
You mean they are trying to make healthcare cheaper? Well, death is relatively cheap...
KPIs (Score:2)
It would be interesting to see how this decision came about.
Was the decision maker measured on the amount of cost cutting they could achieve, but not measured on lives lost?
That's the thing with KPIs, sometimes the difficult-to-measure aspects of a job are quite important.
TV Show (Score:2)
Gues they didn't watch the 9-1-1 TV show where they *do* test AI. Machine has the caller do a tourniquet on his own neck. Yup, AI for 911 dispatching is gonna go so well... I wouldn't even trust AI for a banana cake recipe, putting that in charge of emergency calls? nope. Someone *WILL* die.
Kiss those solid jobs everywhere goodbye (Score:2)
Human Services without the humans will cost us all one way or another. Whats good for the bottom line is usually costly to individual families everywhere. Eventually we adapt to the change, but its gonna take time to replace every solid job we elimininate. Instead of expanding military, police and prisons lets pay for schools, hospitals, and day care. Lets pay for carrots instead of sticks.
1000 calls per day? (Score:2)
1000 calls per day in a population of 450,000 people. Iâ(TM)d start by having the AI work on reducing the number of non-emergency calls.
Well (Score:5, Insightful)
Who is going to take the responsibility when someone dies as a result of this?
Re:Well (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm pretty sure it won't be the CEO of Carbyne (the company providing the AI) - but we all knew that already.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
> Who is going to take the responsibility when someone dies as a result of this?
No one, its the government, they have immunity.
This could be done right . (Score:2, Funny)
This could be done right, but I think it needs a trial run in a smaller community. For example Martha’s Vineyard. If it works well there and the inhabitants and visitors are pleased, then we can roll it out to larger communities.
Re: (Score:2)
That's logical and practical, but unfortunately this is happening in Louisiana where logical and practical are outlawed.
Re: (Score:2)
**WOOSH**
Re: (Score:2)
It is a strange choice of location.
It would only be fair to ask for this to be tried in Palm Beach.
Re: (Score:3)
None, because there's allegedly no duty to protect, and using AI is just an extension of this.
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Plus it would most likely fail because someone calls 911 to order a pizza, because the AI thinks it's a prank call rather than an agent realizing that it's meant as a cryptic call for help. ...
Or even better - some police reports noted that one of the victims turned into a frog simply because it overheard a movie playing in the background. This could lead some criminals to make a si
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_v._District_of_Columbia