Police non-emergency line AI call-taking program delayed
An artificial intelligence program designed to handle non-emergency calls to Winnipeg police has been delayed, after initial tests had disappointing results.
'(With) the first two rounds (of testing), we were not entirely pleased with the results…. A lot of calls were being forwarded to the (human) call-takers, more than the number we were anticipating…. (The system) was missing transcriptions, the words were not being picked up and there was a lot of slow responsiveness in the conversational aspect of the product,' said Scot Halley, deputy chief of operations for the Winnipeg Police Service, during Friday's Winnipeg Police Board meeting.
Following those issues, Halley said police switched to a new text-to-speech service provider and a third round of testing had much better results. In that case, 58 of 60 calls were handled entirely through AI and only two had to be diverted to a human call-taker, he said.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
Scot Halley, deputy chief of operations, says the project may be ready by the end of the year, though there is no set timeline.
After the meeting, Halley told media the project was supposed to be fully implemented by now. He said the completion date may now be closer to the end of this year, though there's no set timeline.
The AI system will replace the current voice-response program for non-emergency calls, which prompts callers to press buttons to help direct their inquiries. The new automated, more conversational system will be able to ask and respond to questions.
'The first two phases, we didn't achieve the results we were hoping for (but) there was no risk to the public, even on the non-emergency line, because if there was an issue with the AI tool, it would be immediately directed to a call-taker,' said Halley.
He stressed the tool will not be used to handle urgent emergency calls.
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'Nine-one-one calls will continue to go through to a 911 operator. This is designed for the non-emergency (calls only),' said Halley.
For the rounds of unsuccessful testing, WPS did not provide the number or portion of calls that had to be diverted to human operators. Halley said both rounds missed a target to handle at least 85 per cent of the calls successfully through AI.
WPS hopes the technology will eventually free up time for communications centre staff to take more emergency calls.
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca
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Joyanne PursagaReporter
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
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