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.
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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.
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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.
