Verizon Found a New Way to Use AI

So far, I’ve seen a lot of talk of AI being used for telco customer service, which makes sense, but Verizon just announced an AI project that will allow them to potentially reduce “several hundred fiber cuts” per year.

“Digging” through the data

Verizon will use AI and machine learning to comb through millions of 811 dig requests annually to identify high-risk excavations. 811 is the “call before you dig” number that is mean to prevent damage to underground infrastructure.

The AI will look for “historical and current activity at the location as well as the past performance of the excavator on site.” Then Verizon can decide what to do in a high-risk scenario.

“We are using artificial intelligence and machine learning to be proactive, rather than reactive, keeping our customers connected and preventing accidents that result in costly repairs,” said Julie Slattery, Senior Vice President of Core Engineering and Operations at Verizon. 

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.