New Orleans is introducing AI technology to help manage 911 emergency calls, aiming to reduce the volume handled by human dispatchers, which sits at roughly 1,000 a day. In April, The Orleans Parish Communication District (OPCD) implemented an AI to answer 311 non-emergency calls, as 50% of those calls are callers seeking information. The OPCD is currently testing a new tool using Carbyne’s AI Emergency Call Triage, which does not handle emergency calls directly but analyzes and prioritizes them, providing immediate feedback to callers. Callers are automatically routed to an AI agent who asks if they are calling regarding a specific incident; if yes, they receive information or updates, and if not, they are transferred to a human dispatcher. While the system may improve response times and dispatch efficiency, potential downsides include hidden biases if not properly monitored, as a report by Police1 suggests predictive policing algorithms could be skewed by historical crime data from over-policed areas or marginalized communities, potentially reinforcing socioeconomic bias and systemic racism. Additionally, if the AI’s automatic speech recognition fails to understand callers with stronger accents, dialects, or differing voice pitches, it could become unreliable in its responses.