The Hamilton County Communications Center has put plans to shift non-emergency calls to an artificial intelligence answering system on hold after the communications officers of Hamilton County issued a cease-and-desist letter la st month.We have been in communication with Communications Director Andy Knapp since late May, asking about whether the system would be rolled out and what it looked like, but the technology wasn't ready for display.The union issued the letter calling for the county to abandon plans for "unilateral implementation of this AI software" because it altered the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, according to a copy of the letter provided to WCPO.WATCH: We talk with the CEO of Aurelian about the AI software planned for Hamilton County's dispatch center New AI system in Hamilton County Emergency Communications Center on holdThe letter demanded that the county agree to end plans to implement the software and "collectively bargain with the Union over these issue(s)" by July 7, according to the letter.Knapp and county officials declined to comment on discussions with the union as they navigate the labor dispute, but Knapp issued a statement about the software itself on Tuesday.Our top priority is public safety, and our goal is the same as it's always been: providing the best possible service to residents," Knapp said. "Any AI technology under consideration would be limited to non-emergency calls, helping free up our highly trained emergency communications officers to focus on true emergencies, where every second counts. If technology can safely improve emergency response times and help save lives, we have a responsibility to explore it carefully.We reached out to Aurelian to discuss the union's letter and how their system could change how people report non-emergency situations to the county, and CEO Max Keenan agreed to an interview via Zoom.We asked what people should expect when they contact Hamilton County dispatchers if the system is fully implemented."If you call 911 you get a human," Keenan said first. "What we're talking about is that separate non-emergency line where you're kind of self-selected that this isn't an emergency."Keenan went on to say the company aims to make the AI accessible for callers to speak to."It's very conversational," he said. "It can actually figure out what you need and help match it."Keenan told us the system effectively does three things: collect information that can help direct responding officers address a non-emergency situation like a noise complaint, direct callers to other departments that can solve their problem, or escalate emergency situations from the non-emergency line to human 911 dispatchers to handle.He said taking non-emergency calls off of the emergency dispatcher's plate can free them up to focus on serious situations."You essentially train your team as Navy Seals, and then you use them as mall cops. It's, in many ways, the greatest misallocation of the labor and the talent and the training it takes to be a 911 operator," Keenan said.We asked Keenan if any fear of AI replacing human jobs was founded. He said they operate in more than 50 agencies nationwide, and it has not been an issue so far."There's always this fear that AI is going to take my job. That's never happened with us. We've not taken a single job in the US," he said.You can read the cease-and-desist letter here: ...read more read less