Crisis co-pilots

RapidSOS' HARMONY is a public safety "copilot" relying on a large language model (LLM) with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) purpose-trained on data from more than 500 million emergencies. The tool can automate processing of incoming calls for emergency assistance, extract insights from text and video data, and provide a source of reliable, trusted information chat tool for 911 operators. In Aurora, Colo. the system is assisting with improving how the city of 400,000 handles incoming calls in dozens of languages.

As tools leveraging AI to improve crisis communications become more effective and available, cities' resilience will be improved as they are able to more precisely target resources to provide aid and reduce harm from climate hazards. However, clear guidelines and protocols must be implemented to separate the roles and responsibilities of human and AI responders, with deep transparency into the decision-making processes of AI systems to ensure effective and equitable outcomes.