New Orleans' AI 911 Calls System Sparks Debate After Misleading Reports Trigger Public Backlash

A misleading headline made people think AI was replacing 911 dispatchers

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. Sounding off: As AI moves into more parts of daily life, the possibility of using it in New Orleans' 911 system struck a nerve. Residents were relieved to learn that reports of AI replacing emergency call-takers were inaccurate, but the reaction underscored a larger reality.The technology is reshaping essential services, often faster than the public is ready to accept. New Orleans is using artificial intelligence in a limited part of its 911 operation: screening some duplicate calls about vehicle crashes when human call-takers are unavailable. The Orleans Parish Communication District issued the clarification after a Shreveport Times story reported that the city would use AI to answer 911 calls instead of human operators. OPCD said the technology is not replacing human call-takers and is used only in a narrow set of circumstances. The Shreveport Times article, published Thursday under the headline "New Orleans will use AI to answer 911 calls instead of a human," focused on Carbyne's AI Emergency Call Triage tool. The system is designed to identify when multiple callers are reporting the same incident. Under that process, callers reporting a crash that is already known to dispatchers may receive information or updates about the incident. Callers reporting a separate emergency would be routed to a human dispatcher. The story also noted that the tool would not replace dispatchers. Still, the headline drew a wider reaction online, with commenters questioning whether AI should play any role in emergency communications. "I wonder what happens if someone has to be discreet and order a 'pizza' and instead AI answers," one commenter wrote. Some commenters also pointed to McDonald's abandoned test of AI drive-thru ordering. Widely shared examples of incorrect orders became a symbol of the technology's shortcomings, and McDonald's ended the test at more than 100 restaurants in 2024 after working with IBM on the automated ordering system. The comparison isn't exact. Ordering food at a drive-thru is very different from calling 911, and OPCD says its system is limited to duplicate reports of a known crash. But the reaction reflects a broader concern about using AI in situations where mistakes could have serious consequences. Questions about reliability, accountability, and access to a human operator are particularly sensitive in emergency response. OPCD Executive Director Karl Fasold said the agency has used the AI tool for about two years. It can be activated only when all human call-takers are busy and a caller is within about 200 meters of a crash that has already been reported. The system then determines whether the caller is reporting the same crash. If so, it can provide information or updates. If the caller is reporting something else, the call is routed to a human dispatcher. OPCD said the technology is not used for other types of 911 calls. The agency also said it has safeguards in place to ensure callers can reach a person when needed. Fasold said the Shreveport Times article left readers with the impression that New Orleans was moving toward an AI-run 911 system. He said that is not how the city is using the technology. OPCD also said the reporter did not contact the agency before publishing the article and did not identify sources for some of its claims. "Every 911 center in the country is dealing with the reality of tighter budgets and inability to reach full staffing even with funding to do so. We have found this AI triage tool, used specifically for the scenario outlined above involving motor vehicle accidents, to be an extremely positive use of the technology to make the best use of our staff's very limited time," Fasold said in a statement.

No, AI isn't answering all of New Orleans' 911 calls

Why it matters: It's not true, Orleans Parish Communication District executive director Karl Fasold says, and it pushed staff to go on the offensive this week to counter fears that someone won't answer an emergency call. The latest: The newspaper, the Shreveport Times, has since updated and corrected the story, but not before national media picked up the thread. * The New York Post, Fox and Newsweek were among outlets that ran versions similar to the original. * That version, according to a screenshot OPCD shared with Axios, was headlined "New Orleans will use AI to answer 911 calls instead of a human." Reality check: OPCD is using AI to assist with some 911 calls, Fasold says, but the story oversimplified how it assists human dispatchers. * The tool is only used when people call within 200 meters of an already-reported vehicle crash, according to an OPCD explainer, and only if all human dispatchers are already on calls. * An AI agent only responds to those callers to ask whether they're calling about that vehicle crash. If the caller says anything in any language besides "yes," then they are routed immediately back to a human dispatcher. Zoom in: OPCD was the nation's first emergency call center to start using AI for 911 calls, and "we're very proud of that," Fasold says, but its use remains in that limited capacity. * "We're not looking to replace people with computers," he adds. The big picture: The reaction over the inaccurate original story speaks to fears over the rapidly evolving technology, and how those who use it -- even in promotional ads -- can face swift backlash. * The original reports, Fasold says, prompted concerned New Orleanians to call City Council members and Mayor Helena Moreno's office. They, in turn, reached out to Fasold's team. What we're watching: OPCD also manages New Orleans' 311 call center, and the department is working on an AI tool to answer those calls, about half of which are information requests, Fasold says.

New Orleans joins other cities testing AI 911 operators

Modern emergency services systems lean on AI. Credit: Newsday LLC / Contributor / Newsday via Getty Images 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. 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. 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.

Better Hope You Don't Need an Ambulance in New Orleans, Because the City's 911 Operators Are Now AI

Can't-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech If you thought AI customer service bots were bad, just wait until you need to convince a large language model that yes, you have been involved in a car accident, actually. According to new reporting by the Shreveport Times, officials at the Orleans Parish Communication District -- the emergency dispatch agency for the city of New Orleans -- are now integrating AI answering agents into its workflow. The new tool is called AI Emergency Call Triage, offered by a company called Carbyne. Its function is essentially to triage incoming calls to dispatchers, bumping high-priority emergency calls to humans, and automatically handling repeat calls related to ongoing incidents, the Times explains. Starting in April, New Orleans experimented with implementing the AI for 311 calls, a phone line meant to connect callers to local government information and non-emergency services. That the AI will now be sorting incoming emergency calls is a significant escalation for the city's dispatch agency. New Orleans will now join other major cities including Seattle and Atlanta, which have also implemented AI into their emergency dispatch services in recent weeks. Though officials claim the new tech will help cut through the hundreds of calls inundating human dispatchers, it nonetheless represents an added layer of friction between callers in distress and trained dispatchers who can connect them with help. It's also worth noting that AI voice chat remains highly flawed even when powered by frontier AI models, with plenty of opportunities for errors both in how they process information, and how they dish it out. A February study by the media software company NewsGuard found that in voice mode, AI bots like ChatGPT and Gemini produced false claims with realistic audio up to 50 percent of the time. Emergency calls to 911, needless to say, are often extremely chaotic. Meanwhile, AI voice systems are also persistently vulnerable to outside attacks, with cybersecurity researchers successfully manipulating voice model's behavior with an average success rate between 79 and 96 percent. What all of that means for situations where connecting with a human dispatcher could mean the difference between life and death remains to be seen -- but if other AI voice experiments are any indication, it won't be good. More on first responders: Emergency Responders Say They're Now Unpaid "Roadside Assistance" for Confused Waymos

New Orleans Turned to AI to Field 911 Calls. Now Critics Say It May Miss Crucial Human Cues

Due to a personnel and employee shortage, 911 operations across the U.S. are turning to artificial intelligence to field calls. The Orleans Parish Communication District in Louisiana is one of the most recent districts in the country to adopt the new technology. The local agency is using Carbyne's AI Emergency Call Triage, a system that will analyze and prioritize emergency calls. "We listened to 100 percent of the calls for the first three months. We had no false positives, [and] we had no false negatives, meaning the AI handled the calls it should've handled and didn't try to handle any it shouldn't have tried to handle," Karl Fasold, executive director of the Orleans Parish Communications District, told WVUE. According to the outlet, Fasold said that the Louisiana department gets its calls in the order they're received, including rush-hour motor vehicle accidents, which can quickly overwhelm the team.

AI Is Already Answering Some of Your 911 Calls

AI has worked its way into daily life since ChatGPT made it a household name in 2022. It writes emails, edits photos, and recommends what to watch next. Now add another place it's been quietly operating: the 911 call center in New Orleans. Orleans Parish officials confirmed this week that artificial intelligence has been handling a slice of the city's 911 calls. What the AI actually does The AI only handles a narrow type of call. It kicks in when someone dials 911 near a car accident that's already been logged in the city's dispatch system, specifically within 200 meters. If the AI confirms the caller is reporting that same accident, it tells them help is already on the way. It then asks them to stay on the line only if they were involved or have new details. Everyone else can hang up. Orleans Parish Communications District director Karl Fasold says the tool exists for a simple reason. Rush-hour pileups used to flood the phone lines with dozens of calls about the exact same crash. That pushed more urgent emergencies further back in line. According to the district, the AI now handles 15 to 18 out of every 20 of those repeat crash calls. Officials are clear that violent crimes and life-threatening emergencies never go to the AI. For those particular calls, a human will always be the first voice you hear. Why some experts want more guardrails Not everyone is fully comfortable with the setup. Tulane University professors who study AI in public services point out something important. There's currently no city or national policy that specifically governs how AI gets used in emergency response. Callers also aren't explicitly told they're speaking to a machine. One of those professors, Rob Lalka, states it quite plainly. Get it wrong even once, he said, and someone's life could be on the line. New Orleans is also getting ready to bring a similar AI tool to its non-emergency 311 line.

New Orleans becones first major US city to use AI for 911 calls: 'The worst idea you could think of'

New Orleans has become the first city in the US to use artificial intelligence to answer emergency 911 calls -- but critics warn it could have deadly consequences. The Orleans Parish Communication District -- which gets over a thousand emergency dials a day, in what is among the highest volume of calls in the country -- is routing the 911 calls to an AI agent that decides which ones get bumped to human dispatchers and which get handled by the bot itself, according the Shreveport Times. "I was a 911 dispatcher for 11 years and this is the worst idea you could possibly think of," warned an online critic using the name Boxy, who claimed to be a first responder. The new tool, known as AI Emergency Call Triage, was first deployed in Louisiana's largest city in late July after being tested on its 311 hotline. The triage bot analyzes calls to prioritize which emergencies should be handled by humans, while it handles repeat calls or low-priority ones to avoid inundating dispatchers, the Times explained. OPCD Executive Director Karl Fasold, however, emphasized that the AI is not replacing human dispatchers, and said the system will mainly be used when the caller is within roughly 200 meters of a crash that has already been reported and when all human call-takers are busy, according to local CBS News affiliate WWL-TV. Critics, nonetheless, fear it could have deadly consequences. "You have scenarios where the person can't speak well [or have strong accents] -- or if they're in a domestic situation and they pretend to call for pizza or something -- you have to be able to determine how someone feels or pick up on what they aren't saying," said Boxy, who had a picture of himself in a first responder uniform in his profile. "You need a person." New Orleans appears to be the first major municipality in the country to allow AI to actually answer emergency calls. However, others -- such as Atlanta and Seattle -- have also integrated AI into their 911 systems in lesser forms. Atlanta uses AI to help live dispatchers locate callers faster, according to CBS News. Meanwhile, Seattle started using a similar tech in 2024 to help dispatchers decide which callers deserve a rapid response and which don't -- using it for over two years without disclosing it to the public, according to an investigation by the Seattle Times. But AI's track record on accuracy, especially when it comes to voice chatting, is sketchy at best, according to multiple studies. In February, one study found that bots like ChatGPT and Gemini made up false information nearly half the time, delivering it in audio that sounded convincing, according to data collected by Newsguard. Complicating it more is the fact that people calling 911 are rarely calm, coherent or easy to understand. Critics warn that only increases the risk for misunderstanding. AI voice systems are also persistently vulnerable to outside attacks and could even develop hidden biases based on the data it's fed, with cybersecurity researchers successfully manipulating the voice model's behavior with an average success rate between 79% and 96%, according to security researchers from China's Zhejiang University, presented during May's IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy. Security researchers have also managed to hack these systems from the outside, tricking voice models into misbehaving with a success rate as high as 96% in some tests. Still, officials in New Orleans said they strongly believe that with human oversight, thorough training data, strong cybersecurity and algorithm regulation, the AI 911 bot could work effectively.