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New Orleans is using AI to triage 911 calls in case of backlog
- voakbasda 2mo agoGood idea. Law enforcement is always looking for new ways to avoid responsibility for its shortcomings and failures. Now they can blame an AI. Classic case of “of course they knew what could go wrong, and that is exactly why they chose that solution.”
- Ferret7446 1mo agoYour biased knee jerk reaction is obvious; 911 calls involve many non-law enforcement cases.
- danqqq 2mo ago[dead]
- injidup 2mo agoThe assumption that because something is important and the consequences are dire when it fails, infinite resources should be allocated is simply wrong. At some point 911 calls will be backlogged. What to do then? Maybe AI triage is the best of the worst options.
- fcarraldo 2mo agoThe assumption is more that, given tools to automate the “less important” parts of important processes, this starts a slippery slope where capitalism will squeeze as many humans as possible out of the job to reduce costs because the “AI is good enough.” Until, of course, it isn’t - but at that point, the budget is reallocated, there’s no funding, there’s simply nothing we can do except continue to pay this AI contract.
- gchamonlive 2mo agoProblem is always handling bias and preventing human abuse, specially in law enforcement tools.
- jordanb 2mo agoWas New Orleans "investing infinite resources" before? It seems like as always the pitch here is you fire a bunch of existing 911 operators and split the projected cost savings with an AI company. It's also highly likely that the cost savings projections are optimistic and they will be back at the table a year from now saying that the only way to realize the projected savings is to divert more calls to the AI and further reduce staffing.
- john_strinlai 2mo ago[dead]
- selimthegrim 2mo agoThis was debunked, it was in a very limited case of repeat calls from an accident scene.
- basilikum 2mo agoRelated: 911 calls answered by AI in New Orleans [video] – 2026-08-11 – https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49258252 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49258252 New Orleans is testing Carbyne’s AI-powered Emergency Call Triage software – 2026-08-07 – https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49204546 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49204546
- john_strinlai 2mo ago>"The pattern was every morning and evening during rush hour, there would be an accident, and hundreds of callers called in about the same thing." >"Anyone calling 911 within a 200-meter radius of a live auto accident is now immediately routed to the AI agent" >"the tool engages only for motor vehicle accident calls, only when every human call taker is already busy, & only when the caller is within about 200 meters of a crash that has already been reported." this seems very reasonable to me
- ceejayoz 2mo agoI do hope there's a "when fifty people call within 200 meters all at once" escalation somewhere in this flowchart.
- ambicapter 2mo agoHow does "the tool" know its a motor vehicle accident call, and how does it know when the caller is within 200 meters of an already reported crash? Seems like the screening will have to happen on all calls.
- deleted 2mo ago[deleted]
- ikidd 2mo agoYour approximate location is automatically determined by cell tower triangulation and fed to emergency services when you call. It's very common now.
- toast0 2mo agoe911 gets the location. Presumably one of the dispatchers working the calls will mark it as a motor vehicle accident.
- infecto 2mo agoThe key part being it’s only when there is a surge and queue of calls. Crash calls will most likely 99% of the time if not 100 be from cell phones. I am guess the AI agent will ask for a description of the call. I have seen some AI call tech before and it can work really well. Obviously depends on their implementation but imo a great use of technology.
- pibaker 2mo agoI don't understand how we can keep giving the police shiny new toys and juicy overtime pays but can't find enough people to take 911 calls.
- nemomarx 2mo agoIf you don't give the cops their toys, they might go on a work strike, threaten politicians, or whatever. If you don't give 911 operators money and more seats the backlash is much more muted. maybe they need a strong union and strikes?
- jimbo808 2mo agoThis is a slippery slope, where the number of operators can be allowed to gradually decline until eventually it’s just AI. And given the unreliability of LLMs, this is a grave concern that will undoubtedly lead to the enshittification of critical services.
- qHasG 2mo ago[flagged]
- nipunaeka89 2mo ago[flagged]