AI bots help 911 dispatchers with their workloads

In the middle of a storm, 911 call centers often find themselves overwhelmed with reports of downed trees, flooded roads and panicked residents. Every call is important, but with multiple reports of an incident flooding in, the pressure on emergency services can become overwhelming.

Amid the chaos, a technological ally has emerged: artificial intelligence. In the United States, artificial intelligence is quietly changing the way dispatch centers handle non-emergency calls. An AI-powered system can triage and coordinate the flood of reports and immediately alert relevant organizations.

Currently, AI-powered systems only handle non-emergency calls that typically come from a non-911 phone number but are answered at the same centers, allowing human dispatchers to focus on emergencies.

The integration of artificial intelligence technology into 911 centers is partly a response to an acute staffing crisis and a pressing need to address the mental health challenges emergency responders face. While AI-powered systems in 911 centers offer potential benefits, such as handling increased call volume and reducing dispatcher workload, there are concerns among experts that the systems may over-prescribe police responses or be biased. Be mistaken, there is.

So far, fewer than a dozen localities in seven states across the country are using or testing artificial intelligence in their 911 centers. But, as in other industries, leaders are wondering how AI can transform the workplace.

“For me, I think using artificial intelligence for non-emergency calls is a fantastic idea,” said Ty Wooten, director of government affairs for the International Academy of Emergency Dispatch, an organization that helps set standards for emergency dispatch centers. I see a huge benefit in being able to cut those calls out of the 911 center queue so that 911 callers can really focus on the ones that really matter.

Emergency call centers are struggling to find workers. Between 2019 and 2022, 1 in 4 jobs at 911 centers will be vacant, according to a report released in June of this year by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch and the National Association of State 911 Administrators. As emergency call centers continue to struggle with staffing shortages, some 911 calls may go unanswered or get stuck in long queues.

Wooten said in an interview that this subsequent loss of staff forces everyone to work more, which then burns people out and creates more turnover. This is a vicious cycle.

Currently, there are few regulations on how AI can help. Only a few states have established AI regulatory frameworks. And the definition of AI is unclear in many states.

Brandon Ebley, chief technology officer for the National Emergency Number Association, a nonprofit professional group, said public safety agencies are often wary of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, because of concerns about service disruptions.

[Emergency call centers] Ebley said in an interview with Stateline that they don’t really bother to try and implement AI into their operations because, in general, they don’t want major disruptions to their operations unless they’re very, very sure.

He added that there may also be disadvantages. For example, dispatchers can face mental health challenges if they have to handle more emergency calls because an AI system receives more administrative or non-emergency calls.

“We think it looks promising, but we’re also cautious,” Ebley said.

Increasing efficiency and reducing workload

Municipalities in Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia have already begun testing or implementing artificial intelligence systems to place calls at 911 centers.

Among the driving forces is the dual role played by call center personnel. In most public safety centers, the same people answer emergency and non-emergency calls. As the workforce shrinks, some governments see artificial intelligence as a solution to reduce some of the workload.

Among the tech companies offering products to 911 centers is Amazon Web Services, an Amazon subsidiary that offers cloud computing services, including Amazon Connect, a cloud-based call center designed to provide voice assistance. . Carbyne is another software company focused on emergency communication services that uses artificial intelligence for live two-way translation and call triage.

For example, in South Carolina, Amazon Connect is used for non-emergency calls at the Charleston County Unified Emergency Communications Center. When a caller dials the county’s non-emergency line, Amazon Connect answers and asks the caller what they need help with. The system directs the caller to the appropriate resources, allowing human dispatchers to focus on emergency calls. If the system cannot understand the caller, it sends the call to a human dispatcher.

The center pays about $2,800 a month for its Amazon Connect subscription, which Jim Lake, the center’s director, said is cheaper than hiring staff just to answer non-emergency calls. Lake told Stateline that the system has reduced call volume to the administrative line by 36 percent since March.

These are the calls our public safety 911 operators do not want to accept. They are not emergency. So we showed them that it made their job more efficient and gave them time to do more on emergency calls,” Lake said.

Several other call centers, including the Arlington County Emergency Communications Center in Virginia, the St. Louis County Police Department in Missouri, and the Jefferson County Communications Center in Colorado, are also using Amazon Connect or similar technologies.

Since using Amazon Etisalat’s app in Jefferson last December, artificial intelligence has processed about 40 percent of emergency center administrative calls.

“We were processing less than a million calls a year, so it’s much better for us to manage that through technology and free up personnel to handle more sensitive calls,” said Jeff Streeter, the center’s executive director.

While there are concerns about artificial intelligence displacing dispatcher jobs, many 911 call center leaders stress that their goal is to make existing roles more manageable.

I can’t stress enough that it’s not going to kill jobs, especially in the 911 industry. It’s going to help them advance their careers,” said Jacob Sauer, director of the Emergency Communications Center for Arlington County Public Safety Communications and Emergency Management. I just can’t see in any way, shape or form an automated bot answering 911 calls.

Brian Battles, communications administrative specialist for the St. Louis County Police Department’s Communications Bureau, which oversees county 911 operations, echoed that view.

Battles said this has been especially helpful for callers who are already overworked. Anything we can do to relieve stress while providing more efficient services to citizens is a no-brainer on our part.

Addressing bias and funding

As with other emerging criminal justice technologies, concerns about bias in artificial intelligence systems abound.

“All AI models are only as good as their developers,” Daniela Gilbert, director of Vera Justice’s Institute for Redefining Public Safety, wrote in an email. AI has the potential to replicate human biases on a large scale, he wrote.

If these systems are [designed] Instead of helping the callers, receiving the call destroys the human empathy that is often necessary in crisis situations, Gilbert wrote. Imagine that you are in a time of great stress and need and you have to negotiate with a robot.

If, for example, developers have certain biases that favor police response, AI systems may over-prescribe police intervention when alternative sources are more appropriate, Gilbert wrote.

Martha Buyer, a telecommunications law attorney and 911 expert, emphasized that artificial intelligence systems are prone to error, which can lead to liability issues. Buyer added: These systems must be able to accommodate a diverse range of callers, including those who speak languages ​​other than English or have special needs related to their abilities.

He said that having an artificial intelligence system respond to a 911 call is too fraught with responsibility to even think about. Timing is critical.

In part, AI systems are not available everywhere because many dispatch call centers are stuck in a technology time warp, relying on legacy systems that struggle to keep up with rapid technological advances.

“The reality is that the 911 system, as it exists across the country today, is still a type of technology that was developed in the 1930s,” said Wooten, of the International Academy of Emergency Dispatch. This technology needs to be improved and we need to get it to a point where we understand and it’s fairer.

For example, even as cell phones become ubiquitous, some legacy systems struggle to accurately locate cell phone callers. Instead of obtaining accurate GPS coordinates, these centers may only receive the location of the nearest cell tower, hampering response efforts.

Buyer said no one ever plans to need to call 911, so from the government’s perspective, it’s often left out of the budget.

Wooten said that despite AI’s potential, many centers need major advances in technology before engaging with AI.

We really need to prepare the infrastructure and take care of it before we can see the benefits and understanding of other future technologies, be it AI or any other technology in the future.

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