Listen to yourself. Have a large team of trained staff on call. How much do you think that costs? No go on guess. Do some calculations. The people do not exist to fill the seats. The money does not exist to pay the non-existent people. This is an attempt to make an already shitty situation better.

I work in this industry and I read the article. I understand what they are doing. I hate AI but this seems reasonable.

So, say a tower block fire happens at 2 am. You're getting 50 calls a minute, 20% from residents and the rest from people calling to say they see a fire.

How long would it take for your trained staff to spring into action compared to an on demand AI? And are you paying your on-call staff to wait, or only when they're on the phone?

edit: I'm thinking about the Grenfell Towers. I listened to the BBC's coverage of the enquiry, and it was rough. Gave me a new appreciation for what emergency responders do.