Antioch PD wants to use AI agents for non-emergency calls. Although a human dispatcher would still handle 911 calls, some people in Antioch were not on board with the proposal. Antioch PD wants to add AI agents to its dispatch center. These agents will only handle non-emergency calls, summarizing detailed notes to report back to the dispatchers. Humans would still answer 911 calls. Lieutenant Michael Mellone said the department handles more than 200,000 non-emergency calls per year: with a shortage of dispatchers, it’s impossible to handle this demand while also dealing with 911 calls. The hope is the AI agents can address the problem. “It allows or 911 dispatchers to focus on emergency calls and then when they get a break they can review a non-emergency call that’s come in, and push it out to an officer for a response,” he explained. Many residents were not on board with the initiative. “Since AI is technology, what if the Wi-Fi breaks down or it has a glitch? It can really switch up the situation,” Yaretzi Farias said. “That’s not being real. You have to call into a real person,” Victor Gonzalez said. Some others are okay with the idea. “For non-emergencies, I think that’ll be a good thing especially if we have a lot of calls coming in,” David Wade said. Michael Leininger, a retired officer with San Jose PD, believes the department will have to educate the public on the benefits of a technology that’s still unknown. “They need to really clarify the purpose and how it will work for these folks, so they feel more comfortable with it,” Leininger said. He also said any mistakes made by the AI agents could have consequences if not reviewed properly. “An automate mistake could potentially cost someone their life. This is a work in progress,” he said. The proposal for these AI agents will go to city council on Tuesday. If approved, the lieutenant said the agents will be implemented in a few weeks. ...read more read less