New Orleans 911 shoots down report that it is replacing humans with AI — the truth is more complicated

The 911 operators of New Orleans are not happy about what they are calling irresponsible journalism.

The conflict stems from a report that accused the emergency service providers in the city of using artificial intelligence — instead of humans — to respond to emergency calls.

‘No, New Orleans 911 is NOT replacing humans with AI.’

The article in question was originally titled “New Orleans will use AI to answer 911 calls instead of a human,” from the Shreveport Times.

The outlet said the Orleans Parish Communication District, which handles emergency and public safety calls for the city, was testing out a new tool to reduce the intake volume for dispatchers.

Citing “over a thousand emergency calls a day,” the paper stated that while the AI was originally implemented in April for non-emergencies, the AI is now answering 911 emergency calls for Louisiana’s largest city.

In response, the OPCD called the report “extremely misleading & inaccurate, and “containing numerous errors of fact.”

A press release from the organization titled “No, New Orleans 911 is NOT replacing humans with AI,” refuted the claim that officials are exchanging staff members for artificial intelligence and offered an explanation for how their “AI call-triage” tool works.

That’s where the automated responses come in.

OPCD said that when all operators are busy and a 911 call comes in from within 200 meters of an already-reported incident, the AI tells the callers they have reached New Orleans 911 and asks if they are calling about the same case.

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“If the caller responds with anything other than ‘YES’ (in any language), they are returned to the 911 call queue to speak with a human,” the organization wrote.

If the caller does say “Yes,” the AI tells the caller that the incident is already known and that if the caller is involved or has further information to stay on the line. The call is still logged and the normal audio and data still recorded, the OPCD stated.

Although OPCD described the story as “irresponsible,” the Louisiana paper’s description of the program was seemingly not as egregious as one would imagine. The Times described the triage as a system that assesses incoming calls to provide immediate feedback to callers.

“This is intended to handle the increase of calls that are related to one incident,” the Times said.

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In fact, the outlet outright stated that the AI “will not be used to handle emergency calls, only to direct such calls to a human dispatcher.”

One discrepancy was that the program had started in just April, but OPCD said it has been in use since the fall of 2023.

Nonetheless, OPCD said the Shreveport Times failed to properly fact check its “incredibly inflammatory story,” while labeling such acts “irresponsible” and “unprofessional.”

Following the OCPD’s complaints, the Shreveport Times has updated its article and title. The article now reads, “New Orleans hoping limited AI use could speed response for emergencies,” with the following note:

The original version of this story did not meet our editorial standards. We are conducting a thorough review and implementing immediate measures to strengthen our process. We regret the error and any distress it may have caused. This story will be updated as additional facts or information warrant.

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