Everbridge Opens 2023 Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) Workshop in Switzerland with Presentation on Artificial Intelligence for Emergency Warning

Everbridge, Inc. participated at the 2023 CAP Implementation Workshop, that took place in Geneva, Switzerland. The workshop brought together government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private enterprise, scholars, researchers, and emergency managers to discuss emergency alerting as enabled by the CAP standard, ITU-T Recommendation X.1303.

Everbridge kicked off the two-day workshop with a presentation on The Use of Artificial Intelligence for Emergency Warning. The prototype presented is a key result of a European Horizon 2020 research project and is being developed with careful consideration of the evolution in the European regulatory environment, notably the “AI Act.”  The Act, passed by the European Parliament in June 2023 with an overwhelming majority, ensures AI systems used in the European Union are safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory, and environmentally friendly.

“With emergency services and disaster relief operations often stretched beyond capacity, we now look to AI technology to find ways to automate crisis response and deliver resources faster and more efficiently than ever,” said Morten Seliussen, VP of Engineering at Everbridge. “Artificial intelligence and machine learning have accelerated to the point where they can make accurate predictions, automate decisions, and trigger lifesaving actions. We are looking forward to sharing our experience with the Common Alerting Protocol and showcasing new approaches to AI-powered technologies at the annual CAP Implementation workshop.”

The Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) is defined as a simple but general format for exchanging all-hazard emergency alerts and public warnings over various ICT networks, allowing a consistent warning message to be broadcast simultaneously over many different​ warning systems, thereby increasing warning reach and effectiveness.

While 85% of the world’s population live in a country with at least one national CAP feed, developing nations have lagged behind other countries in their adoption of CAP. This gap inspired the Call to Action on Emergency Alerting, endorsed by the Workshop participants as well as the International Federation of the Red Cross, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and World Broadcasting Unions (WBU), among others. 

Workshop participants also listened to presentations focusing on CAP implementation in various nations – including Canada, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Italy, East Timor, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – as well as from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). 

In addition to its participation at the 2023 CAP Implementation Workshop, Everbridge serves as an active institutional member of both the International Telecommunications Union(ITU) and the UNDRR Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies (ARISE); takes part in the European Union research and innovation program Horizon 2020; and joins standards bodies, government agencies, and NGOs in endorsing theGlobal Digital Compact assertion that “timely warning of life-critical emergencies is essential to public communication services.”