AI Is Changing Emergency Alerts — Are We Ready? | Dr. Jessica Jensen

Artificial intelligence is already changing emergency management — but are we ready to trust it with alerts and warnings?On this episode of The Alerting Authority, Dr. Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola welcome Dr. Jessica Jensen, Senior Policy Researcher at RAND and a national expert in emergency management policy, practice, and research.Dr. Jensen joins the podcast to discuss the newly released AIDE report — AI for Disasters and Emergencies — and what its findings mean for emergency managers, public warning professionals, and organizations exploring the use of artificial intelligence during disasters.The conversation explores where AI can help, where significant questions remain, and why emergency management cannot simply adopt AI tools without understanding how they perform against established research and warning-message standards.One of the biggest takeaways: AI should support emergency management professionals — not replace their expertise.Jeannette and Eddie also discuss the importance of benchmarking AI-generated alerts and warnings, keeping a human in the loop, and ensuring that messages continue to follow evidence-based principles for effective risk and crisis communication.In this episode:• What the AIDE (AI for Disasters and Emergencies) report found• How AI could change emergency management• Using AI to write emergency alerts and warnings• Why benchmarking AI systems matters• The importance of the human in the loop• Risks of relying too heavily on AI-generated messaging• The need for standards and independent evaluation of AI tools• What emergency managers should understand before adopting AI• Where additional research is still neededThe Alerting Authority helps organizations strengthen their warning and emergency communication programs through training, message audits, policy assistance, message design, exercises, and real-world guidance.Because “we’ll figure it out when something happens” is not an emergency communication strategy.Subscribe to The Alerting Authority for conversations with researchers, emergency managers, warning experts, and practitioners working to make alerts and warnings more effective.#EmergencyManagement #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #EmergencyAlerts #PublicWarning #CrisisCommunication #DisasterResponse #RiskCommunication #EmergencyCommunications #AIDE