Is that an AI Voice on my Phone?
CHATTANOOGA, TN – This week on Tech Byte we were give an exclusive inside look at the Hamilton County 9-1-1 communications center. They have enlisted the help of Evelyn, an Artificial Intelligence assistant that is taking the strain off our emergency response professionals.
According to Executive Director Jeff Carney “I want to emphasize that it’s not on 911. It’s on the non-emergency line. So if you dial the seven digit phone number for your police department, fire department with a question or a warning, a copy of a police report, or in a control barn or something like that. Non-emergency situations. That’s where we found that I can actually help us out by taking some of the call burden off of our emergency call takers.”
The project has been live for almost a month. It’s currently operating above a 95% success rate and helping our workers by taking the non emergency calls off their plate and giving them time for recovery between calls.
“We’re still in phase one of it. We went live, probably about a month ago. It’s doing what it’s supposed to do,” says Carney. “People, if I could say something to the people out there, is to be patient with Evelyn. That’s the name of the I call taker. Be patient and answer questions, and she can actually help you. And, you will let you know that you’re not tying up an emergency call taker, that way.”
As the system grows and learns, it will be expanded to help take calls in other areas, but Mr. Carney was very specific in making sure everyone knows it will NOT handle emergency calls. “I believe those calls will always require a human touch,” claims Carney.
If you’re in a place where you can’t speak or you just need help, you can always text your emergency to 911, and you’ll get the same human response that you would get as if you called. Many people have been saved by texting where you will also get a human interaction through text. We will revisit the 9-1-1 center later in the year for another look at the technology behind the calls.
