Airliners without Pilots
Boeing will begin testing pilotless jetliners in 2018. Yes, the future of air travel may include planes without pilots. Just computers and calculations to get passengers safely to their destinations. Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) is opening up possibilities to make flying safer, more consistent, easier to manage, and cost efficient.
“the basic building blocks of the technology clearly are available,”
said Mike Sinnett, Boeing’s vice president of product development.
Automation and Safety
Planes already are under the control of computers most of the time. They can take off, fly to their destination, and even land in semi-automatic modes. The question is not if it is technically possible, but rather would it be safe in all situations where risks of safety to passengers arise. It is not about the 99% of flight time, but rather those unexpected and unforeseen moments when snap decisions are required to keep the passengers safe.
Not too long ago, Captain Chelsey Sullenberger made a miraculous effort avoid disaster when a flock of geese struck his plane shortly after takeoff. He was able, against serious odds after the engines were rendered ineffective, to avoid populated areas of New York city and glide the plane to a safe landing on the Hudson River. The pilot saved 150 passengers and potentially countless people on the ground.
Cybersecurity Factors
Autonomous planes, carrying passengers, flying with significant force, and carrying tremendous amount of highly flammable fuel may be a prime target for certain cyber threats. Total control would be the ultimate goal, but even the ability to disrupt operations may be sufficient to cause horrendous loss. As a result, autonomous flight development will be a huge test for AI security fundamentals, integration, and sustainable operations. AI controlled airborne transport vehicles is an admirable goal with significant potential benefits for all, but the associated risks that must be overcome and maintained consistently over time are mind boggling.
Consider this: a malicious actor taking control of an AI controlled car could cause a handful of deaths. Taking over an AI controlled plane can result in situations like 9/11 where thousands of people die, many more are injured (short and long term), and most importantly sending an indelible message to an entire society that strikes a chord of long-lasting fear. Every day there are tens of thousands of flights occurring in the skies above. Aside from the passengers at risk, each one could be used as a weapon against targets on the ground.
The business risks are equally severe. It could crater a plane manufacturer, if such a situation manifested and one or more of their planes were hacked and intentionally brought down. The viability of the plane manufacturer or airline company would cease to exist.
The Fallible Control
Personally, I like humans in the loop. There is no doubt people are fallible, unpredictable, and inconsistent. Which, from a cybersecurity perspective, they can be tough for an attacker to anticipate. The very weakness humans bring to complex systems is ironically a safety control against malicious attackers.
Then there is the fear factor. A flesh and blood pilot has a committed stake in the safety of the plane, passengers, and themselves. It is their lives at risk as well. Under pressure, humans have a remarkable ability to adapt and overcome when facing unexpected or new situations that put their mortality in the balance. I am not sure that concept is something that can be programmed into a computer.
We are entering the age of AI. It will bring with it enormous benefits, but humanity still has a lot to learn when it comes to deciding the proper role and trust we will place in digital intelligence. Large scale human safety may be one of those places where AI is better suited as an accompaniment to human involvement. Such teamwork may bring the very best of both worlds. We are learning, just as we are teaching machines. Both human and AI entities still have a lot to discover.
Interested in more? Follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter (@Matt_Rosenquist), Information Security Strategy, and Steemit to hear insights and what is going on in cybersecurity.
I can't decide if this is safer or more dangerous than human pilots. I would prefer the auto pilots
would there even be a cock pit or in the same place it would just be a computer? how wold it account for airline traffic? and how would air traffic control at the airports tell it when to land?
I don't think that I would feel safe flying in a pilotless airplane. Frankly the word PILOTLESS just gives me the chills .
I feel those same chills @mchavarriaot
AI and Airplanes ...what could possibly go wrong?
Where a Blue-Screen-of-Death might just be....well, death.
I watched an MIT professor, Joshua Tenenbaum, recently discussing AI technology in this sort of application. He said what is helping AI be something we can start to trust is when it exhibits a "common-sense core," being able to see not only patterns in data, but to then extrapolate what is likely to happen. If we see a picture of a plate on the edge of a table and a dog eyeing it, we can predict what is likely to happen to that plate just from a static photograph of these various objects. AI can also anticipate such things, especially what Tenenbaum calls intuitive physics. It's fascinating.
That level of intuition is difficult to achieve. I have seen some some research where computers will look at a series of pictures and attempt to extrapolate the next frames. They celebrate the few instances where the computer does a good job, but in order for 'trust' to exist in high risk situations, the accuracy must be order of magnitudes higher. Not sure with the current level of tools if we can achieve that level of fidelity. It may take a significant breakthrough. Ironically, we can't determine if it is possible unless we continue to invest in research. Explore the unknown.
The power of technology and artificial intelligence. I can't believe how fast everything is changing.
I think there will be new models of planes with better engines and electronics. Much lighter and safer.
Thanks for sharing, have a great weekend!
It will be very difficult to convince a vast majority of the traveling public to fly in a pilotless plane. I don't like the idea of a hacker being able to take control of the plane. Plus, I like the idea of someone in the cockpit in case there is trouble.
I think there are many who align to this position! We as customers and stockholders of airlines would do well to make it known our concerns.
Robot and bots are not apolitical, they are just not able to be politically creative! Their programming is imbued with the politics of their creators so autonomous planes are not a move away from it but rather towards a standardized politics.
@mrosenquist I immediately thought this was another sequal to the Die Hard movies!
All seriousness, like autonomous driving, there will always need to be a human present to take over in a situation where mechanical
I think there are levels of risk. AI pizza delivery pedestrian scooter, okay. Control over hundreds of people in a pressurized tube flying near the speed of sound carrying 238,604 liters of fuel.... I would need to be convinced.
lol, agreed. We aren't talking about kitchen appliances here. Kitchen.Toaster. Toast. Cheese. Jam.
Damn @mrosenquist, now I am hungry. lol
Can't wait for the automated pizza delivery drone!
@mrosenquist Deep thought of the day: Do you give a tip to a delivery drone?
Yes, $10.00 in pennies. If it can carry it back, it can keep it. :)
Yeahhhh not a big fan of this. Computers are great, but I would want someone to be there to oversee things. Plus, I dont want hundreds of pilots to be layed off. But, we'll see
On the upside, there may be fewer close-calls as the number of expected flights expects to increase in the next decade and this may lower the cost of tickets slightly.