Pretty soon AI is gonna take all phone jobs, even in the police it seems.
Canadian company Hyper developed an AI voice agent to help police handle non-emergency calls. SARA, which is an acronym for “Smart Answering Road Assistant,” is being piloted by police in Canada’s Ontario Halton Region and Winnipeg.
“It’s unbelievable how many calls police get that have nothing to do with active police work,” Chris Lewis, a former Ontario Provincial Police commissioner and CTV Public safety analyst said. “Of the thousands of legitimate calls they get every day, only certain ones really require an emergency response.”
SARA will ask callers short questions to determine whether their inquiry can be handled by the system, or if they need a live operator. Callers are advised to speak in full sentences and avoid interrupting SARAH when it speaks.
Police eyes everywhere are on SARAH to see how this works.