By Jon Moss
syracuse.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A labor union representing workers at the Onondaga County 911 Center has filed a lawsuit saying the use of artificial intelligence software to answer some calls violates its collective bargaining agreement and state law.
Lawyers for Civil Service Employees Association Local 834 said in the lawsuit filed Wednesday that state law prohibits transferring work performed by government employees to AI software.
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County spokesperson Justin Sayles declined to comment.
County officials have previously said they are paying $350,000 to the police technology giant Axon for a software package that includes the AI tool.
The 911 center started using the tool over the summer to answer non-emergency calls, which account for one in three calls to the center.
If the AI tool detects that a caller is experiencing an emergency, the call is transferred to a worker in the 911 center.
County Executive Ryan McMahon and Emergency Communications Commissioner Julie Corn touted the technology at a news conference in July.
“These are important initiatives that meet our priorities to adopt the use of AI to modernize our technology and to conserve resources that are critical to our operation in county government,” McMahon said.
Corn said at a budget hearing last month before the County Legislature that the AI tool was “a win for everyone.”
“What this actually does is unload non-emergency calls to allow emergencies to get through even better,” she said.
Corn added that the county is working to use AI software in additional ways, including to help with translation.
The lawsuit in state Supreme Court asks Judge Danielle Fogel to direct the county to stop using the AI software.
A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 5 , court records show.
Gov. Kathy Hochul approved a change earlier this year to the state’s civil service law that blocks counties and other types of local government from transferring duties currently performed by employees to AI systems.
Labor unions representing government employees, including the CSEA, had pushed for the change.
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