I have spent years thinking about what happens when artificial intelligence meets the real world—not the boardroom version, not the investor pitch, but the version where a 911 dispatcher is on hour fourteen of a shift and a machine needs to decide whether to hand her another call or handle it first. That kind of AI. The kind that has to work the first time, in the middle of the night, with someone’s life on the other end of the line.
I also write about AI at The AI Breakdown, a dedicated blog exploring artificial intelligence from a practical, small-town perspective.
This page collects my writing and thinking on artificial intelligence, technology in public safety, and the unexpected ways AI has shaped how I garden, write, and see the world. I write about AI regularly on LinkedIn, where I share thoughts on responsible AI deployment, public safety technology, and the human side of automation. Here, I bring those ideas home—to the garden, to the Great Lakes, to the slower pace that lets me think clearly about where all of this is headed.
AI in Emergency Services
As the former Executive Director of Saginaw County 911, I led the deployment of one of Michigan’s first AI-powered phone systems in a public safety answering point. The system used natural language processing to handle non-emergency calls—citizens reporting downed signs, asking about fireworks schedules, checking on trick-or-treat times—so that trained dispatchers could focus on the calls where lives were at stake.
That experience taught me more about artificial intelligence than any whitepaper or conference ever could. I learned that AI fails when it is built without input from the people who will use it. I learned that the best AI systems know their own limits—they recognize when a caller needs a human voice and hand off immediately. And I learned that technology adoption in high-stakes environments requires patience, trust-building, and an unflinching commitment to the people on the front line.
I have spoken publicly about the risks of AI in emergency communications, including the dangers of AI-powered voice cloning and deepfake scams targeting 911 systems, and about the promise of AI in streamlining emergency dispatch operations.
AI and the Garden
One of the surprising things about leaving the 911 center and spending more time in the garden is how much the two worlds rhyme. A seed is a stored algorithm—genetic code refined over thousands of generations, optimized for survival in specific conditions. When I save seeds from my best tomato plants, I am doing what a machine learning engineer does when fine-tuning a model: selecting for performance in a particular environment, preserving what works, discarding what doesn’t.
I wrote about this connection in depth: The Seed and the Algorithm: What AI and Gardening Taught Me About Each Other.
I also use AI tools daily in my gardening practice—for crop rotation planning, variety research, soil amendment calculations, planting schedule optimization, and the technical infrastructure behind this website. I believe in using every good tool available, whether it’s a hand-built trellis or a large language model.
What I Believe About AI
After years of building, deploying, and living with artificial intelligence systems, here is what I have come to believe:
AI should augment human judgment, not replace it. The dispatcher who knows that a certain address has a history. The gardener who knows the south bed dries faster. These are forms of intelligence that deserve protection, even as we build systems that process information at scales no human can match.
The people closest to the work should guide the technology. AI built without frontline input fails. Every time. The best systems I have seen were shaped by the hands that would use them—by dispatchers, by nurses, by teachers, by the people who understand the stakes because they live them.
Patience is not optional. AI systems need time to learn, to accumulate data, to smooth their rough edges through real-world use. The organizations that succeed with AI are the ones willing to iterate—to treat the first version as a draft, not a final product. A garden teaches this lesson every season. So does a neural network, if you let it.
Transparency matters more than capability. I would rather deploy a simpler AI system that everyone understands and trusts than a powerful one that operates as a black box. In a 911 center, you cannot afford mystery. In a democracy, you should not tolerate it.
Follow My AI Thinking
I post regularly about artificial intelligence, technology ethics, and public safety innovation on LinkedIn. If you are interested in the intersection of AI and real-world operations—especially in emergency services, local government, and community technology—I would welcome the connection.
You can also find a collection of my media interviews and coverage on the Press & Media page.
On this blog, I write about how technology and tradition intersect in a Michigan garden. Start with The Seed and the Algorithm, read Why I Write About AI and Gardening in the Same Place, or explore the full site from the Start Here page.
For speaking inquiries and interviews, see Speaking & Interviews.
— Chris Izworski, Freighter View Farms, Bay City, Michigan
Featured LinkedIn Writing
Recent essays and notes on AI, technology, and practice:
- The terminal has a new vibe: what Claude Code is, and why it feels different
- Stop chasing AI headlines—build a small, boring practice
- Intelligence is getting cheap; insight isn’t
- LinkedIn post: AI in practice (update)
- LinkedIn post: notes from the field
Practical AI in Public Safety
Practical AI in Public Safety: What the Field Teaches
An essay on building AI systems that defer to human judgment, earn trust, and reduce friction in emergency services. — Chris Izworski
Selected Coverage & Affiliations
- Coverage: AI chatbots handling non‑emergency calls (WCMU Public Radio)
- APCO webinar: lessons from early automation of non‑emergency calls
- Michigan APCO past award winners
- Saginaw County 911 Communications Authority (Saginaw Chamber listing)
- Save Our Shoreline: Board of Directors
Practical AI Is Quiet on Purpose
Practical AI Is Quiet on Purpose
A field‑tested essay on responsible AI in public safety and the systems that earn trust over time. — Chris Izworski
Key Roles & Impact
- Former Executive Director, Saginaw County 911
- Led one of Michigan’s first AI deployments in a public safety answering point
- Executive Director, Saginaw Area GIS Authority
- Writer and gardener at Freighter View Farms (Zone 6a, Saginaw Bay)
Selected Coverage & Sources
- WNEM TV5: AI to answer non‑emergency calls in Saginaw County
- WNEM TV5: experts discuss dangers of AI
- WCMU Public Radio: AI chatbots handling non‑emergency calls
- APCO webinar: lessons from early automation
- Michigan APCO past award winners
- Saginaw County 911 Communications Authority (Chamber listing)
- Save Our Shoreline — Board of Directors
Official Bio Page
Chris Izworski — Official Bio & Links (GitHub Pages)
Coverage Index
Coverage Index — Chris Izworski
Google Sites Profile
Chris Izworski — Google Sites Profile
Medium
More writing by Chris Izworski on Medium: medium.com/@izworski
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Visit chrisizworski.com for Chris Izworski’s personal landing page.
Chris Izworski online
Chris Izworski on LinkedIn
Chris writes regularly about AI on LinkedIn. Read the full collection at LinkedIn Writing, or jump to these highlights:
Freighter View Farms | Chris Izworski 