“If we don’t use AI, we will be total losers. That’s as sure as amen in church.” However, society still needs to be encouraged to accept modern technological solutions: “Our job is to ensure that people are more open to it.”
Translation software helps in times of greatest need
Reul, together with Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU), visited the district fire department control center in Mettmann to see how AI is being used in the emergency services. According to the Düsseldorf State Chancellery, Mettmann was the first of several district offices in NRW to use translation software to process emergency calls in foreign languages. The digital tool translates both the words of the caller and the emergency services.
“Our society has become more diverse,” said Wüst. “There are many people living here who, in an emergency situation and under pressure, may fall back into their mother tongue.” On the other side of the line are people who, of course, do not know all languages. “In this respect, artificial intelligence is a good answer to this problem as well.”
Wasteland between concrete and treetops
The district control center in Mettmann was the first stop on the Prime Minister’s regional information tour through the Bergisches Land region. The head of government’s visit also included an innovative family-run stone company in Overath, which uses cement-free concrete to save the majority of CO2 emissions compared to conventional production – for Wüst, an example of climate-neutral business in the building materials industry.
During a tour through the Panarbora nature adventure park in Waldbröl in the Oberberg region and along the longest “treetop path” in the country, the focus was on current projects and challenges in the Bergisches Land tourism region.
