New Orleans, home to more than 300,000 residents and an emergency system that handles thousands of calls each day, is turning to AI for help. The city recently confirmed that emergency services, overseen by the Orleans Parish Communication District, are deploying an AI triage tool to screen and sort incoming calls to assist human operators. City representatives explained the technology is intended to reduce the number of repetitive calls and prevent lines from bottlenecking.
Basically, if a resident calls in an incident that's already been reported, like a car crash, the AI dispatcher is supposed to handle it.
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The tool, referred to as AI Emergency Call Triage, was developed by AI emergency services company Carbyne. It's still undergoing real-world testing by operators, according to reporting by the Shreveport Times, but has been involved in triaging traffic-related emergency calls since at least 2023. The city also introduced an AI tool for its 311 non-emergency services in April.
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New Orleans is one of several cities introducing AI into emergency and non-emergency call operations, and Carbyne is already working with public safety agencies across the country.
In 2024, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published a fact sheet exploring the implementation of AI into emergency service operations, including testimony from early adopters like the Orleans Parish Communication District. The agency determined AI could assist in "automating initial detection and triage, streamlining call flow," and reducing call load for human operators. The NTIA's fact sheet argued AI would be most efficient when deployed for translation, triage, automatic callback systems, and geofencing.
Carbyne has multiple partnerships with transportation and law enforcement authorities around the country, including a recent partnership with Washington, D.C. city services to modernize public safety systems like 911 call handling.
In June, reporting from the Seattle Times revealed that the Seattle Fire Department had been deploying an AI-powered triage tool similar to Carbyne's product for nearly two years. The tool in question, developed by Denmark-based company Corti, monitored live medical calls and advised operators on where and when to dispatch immediate services. Corti's AI was also deployed by Boston Emergency Medical Services, according to the company.
Critics of such generative AI products have repeatedly raised concerns about caller data privacy, the potential for AI model bias when interacting with diverse populations of callers, and the limitations of AI-generated voice tools in general. Many have taken issue with the lack of transparency by city services integrating AI into public-facing call lines without explicit notice.
Chase joined Mashable's Social Good team in 2020, covering online stories about digital activism, climate justice, accessibility, and media representation. Her work also captures how these conversations manifest in politics, popular culture, and fandom. Sometimes she's very funny.