The Upward Trajectory of AI in Aviation: Enhancing Flight Crews in an Automated Era

As the global market for Artificial Intelligence (AI) quickly soars towards an impressive $1.8 Trillion projection by 2030, according to the insightful findings of Grand View Research, a parallel challenge is taking hold within the aviation industry. Boeing Corporation, a stalwart in the airliner and aerospace sector, has sounded the alarm on an impending talent deficit. In the next 18 years, the demand for well over half of a million freshly minted aviators and a staggering almost 1 million novel cabin crew members is expected to surge worldwide. Amid this conundrum, a pivotal question arises: Could the burgeoning AI revolution hold the key to aviation’s most pressing modern-day labor predicament?

The Prospect of a Complete Replacement of Human Flight Crews

At the heart of this critical transportation issue stands Aerviva, an authoritative voice in the realm of aviation consultancy, headquartered in the vibrant city of Dubai. The respected Director of Aerviva Aviation Consultancy, Jainita Hogervorst, presents a critical perspective: “AI undeniably wields the power to alleviate the talent scarcity haunting the aviation domain. Nevertheless, the prospect of a complete replacement of human flight crews by AI in the foreseeable future remains a distant reality. The intricacies of aviation operations and the paramount importance of safety continue to steer the industry’s hesitance towards relinquishing full control to automated systems.” However, as AI adoption becomes more widespread, acceptance will quickly follow.

Laying The Foundation: Automation in The Cockpit

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sheds some light on a sobering fact: human factor errors precipitate a substantial nearly 3/4 of aviation accidents, spanning commercial airline disasters as well as general aircraft mishaps. In this context, the integration of intelligent automation holds the potential to reconfigure the safety landscape. “Automation’s forte lies in liberating pilots or human operators and managers from mundane, repetitive tasks, thus liberating their cognitive prowess for high-stakes decision-making,” asserts Hogervorst. Yet, this paradigm shift also ushers in transforming the aviator’s role—from active engagement to vigilant oversight manager. This transition, if protracted, may invite its own set of inherent problems

The Genesis of Concerns: Balancing Intuition and Automation

Amidst the embrace of new-found AI automation on flight decks, the haunting specter of diminished situational awareness comes into view. “Human pilots have a unique innate grasp of their surroundings (situational awareness), empowering them to respond quickly and skillfully to unforeseen or unexpected circumstances. The evolutionary strides of AI systems a equivalent level of instinctual comprehension remains to be achieved,” opines Hogervorst. As automation’s embrace tightens, the skillful manual artistry of flying might fall short—a phenomenon fraught with risks. The synergy between human skill and AI’s prowess takes on greater importance considering the technology’s occasional uncertain behavior.

The Enigma of AI: Cabin Crews in an Automated Milieu

For cabin crew members, the AI narrative takes another nuanced turn. While an outright replacement by AI seems improbable, based on our current understanding, its role as a more efficient and more capable solution is very real. “AI’s proficiency in handling mundane passenger queries, flight information, booking alterations, and luggage tracking holds immense promise. This empowers cabin crews to channel their energies towards their core duties—passenger safety, crisis management, and personalized service,” Hogervorst asserts.

The Path Forward: EASA’s Staged Approach

To embrace AI’s emergence while upholding the tenets of safety and human expertise, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) unveiled an ingenious roadmap. This blueprint charts a progressive integration of AI into aviation operations, commencing with AI/ML applications bolstering human crews in pre-flight preparations and execution. As this evolves, the partnership between humans and machine deepens. At the core of this journey, AI, while autonomous, for now, must remain under the watchful gaze of human guardianship and supervision. EASA’s visionary blueprint underscores a harmonious blend of human ingenuity and AI’s marvels. This may be the best formula in the short term.

The Grand Finale: A Future Defined by Synergy

Amidst the deafening tone of AI’s unmistakable uses in aviation, the notion of AI replacing flight crews may still be a distant dream. Jainita Hogervorst, the guiding light at Aerviva Aviation Consultancy, encapsulates this sentiment aptly. AI, while poised to alleviate specific pressures borne by flight crews, bears the mantle of a collaborative partner rather than an absolute successor. The skies of the future, it seems, will be painted with strokes of human expertise and AI’s boundless potential—a symphony of synergy that soars beyond the horizons of today. After all, everything that AI is capable of has indeed originated within the human mind.

The Ability to Control the Actions of These Sentient and Self-Managing Machines

Finally, as the world changes more rapidly due to the fast-tracking integration of AI, one can only wonder with amazement what the subsequent outgrowth of AI will bring. Some visionaries like Elon Musk have suggested that next-level AI will be referred to as SI or super intelligence. With this so-called, Super Intelligence, humans could lose the ability to control the actions of these sentient and self-managing machines. Once this event horizon is reached, many experts believe that there is no turning back and that humanity could be in peril. Perhaps the warnings from Musk and others should be heeded. For now, however, in the near term, we will watch and see how well aviation assimilates AI, for good or for bad.