AI Chatbots Are Moving Into Emergency Alerts

Grist and WIRED report that US emergency management agencies are increasingly using generative AI to draft disaster alerts, even though most agencies don't officially permit it. Experts see benefits—models can process huge volumes of alerts and strip out jargon—but warn about inaccurate warnings and eroding public trust.

• An Alabama emergency manager published an AI-generated hurricane Isaias threat graphic that was meteorologically inaccurate
• Most agencies ban generative AI, but experts say its use is likely already pervasive at state and local levels
• Hundreds of companies market AI tools to emergency managers for flood assessment and resource coordination
• Flawed warnings have proved deadly: the 2018 Montecito mudslide killed 23 people