CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Artificial intelligence can answer questions, complete tasks and generate information almost instantly. But experts warn that same speed can also make misinformation harder to spot, especially when public safety is involved.
What You Need To Know
- A fake 911 call reporting a murder was later determined to be a prank
- AI-generated posts spread the false information online before facts were confirmed
- Experts warn AI can mimic trusted sources and create public panic online
- Officials urge people to verify information through official law enforcement sources when it comes to crime
James Thomas, a cybersecurity and artificial intelligence expert at York Technical College, said AI can be useful when it helps people manage repetitive or time-consuming work.
“We are offloading some of those monotonous tasks, some of the tedious tasks, some of the time-consuming tasks, and they can run independently while we work on other things or while we continue to augment the work,” he said.
Thomas said he supports the advance of AI but warns the technology is not perfect.
“So the production of that information is instantaneous and the distribution is almost instantaneous," he said. "So when the information gets out there, it moves quickly."
That speed became a concern after the Kannapolis Police Department posted an alert on social media about a fake message connected to a 911 call.
According to police, the call first came in as a murder. Officers were dispatched, but later learned it was a prank. By then, an AI-generated message had already circulated, alerting the community about the initial call.
“And then, of course, this is a horrible problem, especially in misinformation around public safety, because it would, it causes people to shift resources to cover these issues, but it also causes, it can cause panic in the area because you have a number of people now that are craving information, they want to know what’s going on, and they’re reading this and they don’t have the whole story," said Thomas.
Thomas said AI-generated content can be especially convincing because it can mimic trusted sources and use language that feels familiar to readers.
“AI is really mimicking the trusted source, borrowing from its trustworthiness, because it’s talking in the same language, in the same patterns," he said. "But it’s getting that information out faster.”
The North Carolina Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials said AI can help the public safety communications field, but it should not replace trained telecommunicators.
“As the public safety communications field evolves, we welcome AI as a tool to help manage non-emergency workloads and improve efficiency," the association stated. "However, North Carolina APCO remains firm in its stance that AI is a tool to assist telecommunicators, not a replacement for them. The human element is essential for verifying emergencies and ensuring community safety and trust.”
Thomas said AI is not going away, which means people need to slow down before sharing posts online.
“What is the source of the information? Can you verify in another source? That’s an important thing to look at," he said. "Does it create an emotional response with you to create a sense of urgency that you have to act immediately, that you feel like you want to share this with somebody else because they may not know."
"And finally, not in all cases, but in many cases, is it too perfect? Is it too dramatic? Those kind of things are red flags for this,” Thomas said.
He said people should take a deep breath, read carefully and make an informed decision before spreading information on social media.
Kannapolis police also warned that if information does not come from their official site, people should not automatically trust.
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