Post #4074215

2026-07-24 22:03 UTC

RE: https://dair-community.social/@alex/116977123749133116 I was a 911 dispatcher for a decade. To really understand how absolutely terrible an idea it is to have AI answer 911 calls, I'll present you with a single real-life call: Upon answer, the caller calmly began ordering a pizza. Large, pepperoni. Side order of chicken wings. To be delivered promptly. The only sign the caller gave that things were amiss? She rather ignored the first few questions from the calltaker. Because she was being physically abused, had already been beaten, and her abuser was *IN THE ROOM* listening to her order pizza. Tell me how your AI is going to read between those lines.

Replies (6)

@neurovagrant@masto.deoan.org 2026-07-24 22:13

This call happened more than twenty years ago, and I didn't take it. The calltaker who did was brilliant, because it took her exactly one repetition, only one missed beat, to understand what the call really was. We spent several hours in training *just* dissecting, sitting with, and understanding that one call, because the concept behind it was so important.

Open ##4074214
@Alison@beige.party 2026-07-24 22:12

@neurovagrant@masto.deoan.org I've been having to contact many places this week because I'm moving. Zero instances of AI chat bots having a single clue about anything.

Open ##4074636
@SecureOwl@infosec.exchange 2026-07-24 22:12

@neurovagrant@masto.deoan.org @mttaggart@infosec.exchange I called non emergency 911 to report a cow loose in a residential area a few weeks back and was met with a voice chatbot it didn’t understand me when trying to explain about the cow, so i hung up a human dispatcher called me back 10 mins later

Open ##4074638
@Epic_Null@infosec.exchange 2026-07-24 22:37

@neurovagrant@masto.deoan.org A person calling 911 is also potentially in the worst point of their lives. Many of said points will fuck up peoples minds. A 911 opperator has to get a caller from "ramble" to "I am covered in blood" to "I've been stabbed" during a time where blood is not in their head. I doubt AI can navigate that.

Open ##4074643
@dave@burnout.cafe 2026-07-25 01:08

@neurovagrant@masto.deoan.org I definitely agree with the point you are making. Emergency service call dispatchers definitely should not be replaced by AI tech, the human presence is still absolutely essential.

Open ##4076619
@tired_panda@mastodon.social 2026-07-25 00:23

@neurovagrant@masto.deoan.org yeah people will die if they replace operators with AI, and the people who made those decisions will have blood on their hands.

Open ##4080049