The first-ever public safety messaging system that uses AI to generate real-time updates in English and Spanish during emergencies is live in Florida.
The BEACON system uses artificial intelligence to scan the latest text-based information about an emergency, whether that’s a hurricane or mass shooting.
Then it generates up-to-the-minute broadcast content for TV and radio stations in English and Spanish, and sends automatic alerts to residents on the BEACON app.
Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said this cuts down on the time and manpower needed to provide life-saving information during an emergency.
He said it also breaks down language barriers as the information is available in both Spanish and English, and can provide hyperlocal information in rural communities.
Guthrie said BEACON was already put to the test during the 2024 hurricane season, which wrapped up just a few weeks ago.
“During Hurricane Helene and Milton's landfall, BEACON was stress-tested extensively to ensure it was ready for a live audience, and over 4,000 messages were successfully input into the system and converted to on-the-air radio, broadcast messaging,” Guthrie said.
From an emergency management standpoint, Guthrie said BEACON is a failsafe way of getting people crucial information during and after storms when hurricanes and tornadoes can knock out cell service and power.
Watch BEACON in action at Wednesday's press conference:
“With this new technology, we can send specific messages from the state, local or federal directly to impacted communities using radios, a reliable and resilient connection on a dedicated channel that is always on,” Guthrie said.
The system is the result of a partnership between the Florida Department of Emergency Management, the University of Florida, technology company Futuri, the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network and the public radio station WUFT.
It’s already operational in Alachua County and will expand out to every county in the state, with training to follow for emergency managers and local broadcasters.
There are also plans to make it available in Haitian Creole and other languages common in Florida.
Listen to BEACON broadcasting a completely AI-generated and produced newscast here.
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