PROVO, Utah — Non-emergency dispatch calls in Utah could soon be answered by artificial intelligence.
Dispatch centers say the goal is to help free up dispatchers to focus on the emergency calls and to reduce wait time for people calling in to ask simple questions.
"We're the first step, we're the human element that allows callers to get the process started,” said Heather Perkins, a communications manager at Metro Emergency Communications in Provo.
Dispatchers play a crucial role in collecting and disseminating information, ultimately saving lives.
"About 70% of our call volume is non-emergency,” said Kevin Rose, the executive director of Weber 911. “People don’t realize that, and a lot of people also don’t realize that the same person answering that non-emergency call is the same person who answers the 911 calls. And so when our call takers are tied up on non-emergency calls, that takes them away from answering 911 calls.”
Utah Communications Authority announced a statewide partnership with Motorola Solutions for AI to answer non-emergency calls. 911 emergency calls will still be answered and handled by humans.
"An AI bot can handle simple questions, as the phone number to animal services,” said Melanie Crittenden with Utah Communications Authority.
Rose's team at Weber Area Dispatch 911 has been helping with the testing of this new technology.
"We've built into it that if it doesn’t recognize what the caller is calling about or even if it's recognizing that the caller is frustrated, it will immediately transfer them to a live person. We're not going to force someone to have to sit through a chatbot if they don’t want to,” he said.
Most 911 dispatch centers in Utah have opted into this AI system and plan to roll out the changes in the next few months. The main priority is to help dispatchers, especially with staffing being an issue.
"I really hope that having this technology added to their systems is going to help decrease the stress on the 911 call takers,” said Crittenden. "I hope that they see that AI scenarios coming in and helping and assisting them to get what they need in a quicker fashion."
AI will also help translate different languages, answer texts, and reduce wait times for callers.
Those involved say there are guardrails in place.
"It will allow us to input our information into it, so it’s a closed system,” explained Rose. “It’s not out there getting information from the internet."
But, if you need do someone, there will be a person on the other end to help you.
"The human element will never go away in 911,” said Perkins. “This is just a tool for us to be able to better serve the public."
