A cargo plane flew 50 miles with no pilot onboard using a semi-automated system. An aviation expert says the technology could address the pilot shortage.::The flight system allows a plane to be remote operated by a pilot on the ground, which could streamline pilot airline operations in the future.

  • randon31415@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    66
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    2 years ago

    This will be done more and more until the first crash. Then everyone will freak out and everything will be grounded. The engineers will point out that statistically the flights done this way were safer ( 1 million miles were flown by AI in the last 3 years with only one incident. The same done by commercial pilots would have caused 3.5 incidents!)

    Then other incidents will be dredged up. Some won’t be actual incidents, some won’t be the fault of the AI, and some will be because a human overrid AI control. However, the public will firmly be on the side of only humans should fly planes. Laws will be drafted. Then loopholes for “drones” will be made. A decade later these loopholes will be large enough to fly a 737 through.

    No one will remember why they were put in place in the first place, but one political party will be firmly against removing the laws. It will take another generation for them to finally be removed, and by that point computers will be so far integrated with humans that biological humans might be banned from flying under the law if things didn’t change.

    Hopefully, people will look back on this and say, lol, no, that post was edited in 2035, but good try.

    • SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      2 years ago

      However, the public will firmly be on the side of only humans should fly planes. Laws will be drafted. Then loopholes for “drones” will be made.

      That part could just as well go another way:

      The transportation and large sellers of packages, like Amazon, strongly lobbied the government. Now any victim of a crash with automated planes gets a standard payout from the insurance. A class action lawsuits from family members of the victims was eventually decided in favor of the corporations.

  • JJROKCZ@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    32
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    2 years ago

    Anything will be done to address “shortages” other than paying fairly

    • iopq@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      2 years ago

      You need training to fly, so there’s a lag between you posting higher salaries and actually getting new pilots

  • Rapidcreek@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    6
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    2 years ago

    I don’t want to fly with an automated pilot. I want someone with skin in the game.

  • SendMePhotos@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    2 years ago

    To address the pilot pay, in my own opinion I think that flying is reasonably paid. Most entry level jobs (in my area) range between 70-90k. This is comfortable for the most part and above all common jobs.

    The main issue for me is the training costs. I would still be headed towards the aviation industry if I wasn’t held back by the financial debt that I would incur.

  • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    I have an uncle that quit being a pilot because being a trucker paid much better. I not stating an opinion, just a fact. Do with it what you will.

    • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      2 years ago

      Fallout New Vegas is the best video game of all time. I’m not stating a fact, just an opinion. Do with it what I will.

  • db2@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    2 years ago

    Tesla autopilot for airplanes. What could possibly go wrong.

    • cerberus@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      2 years ago

      Considering most all commercial flights are fly by wire except for taxi, takeoff, and landing… not sure

        • cerberus@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          2 years ago

          Yes I understand and agree that this is not the right path to take.

          Automation however is inevitable. There is proven tech that’s existed for decades, the only new things being added here are taxiing, takeoff and landing (and honestly takeoff and landing are already automated, they’re just not used as much)

        • topinambour_rex@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          2 years ago

          Well, there is a pilot veteran with ptsd along the passengers, he could maybe do the job. And he knows one of the air hostess.

    • GeneralVincent@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      2 years ago

      Wait are you in support or against AI airplanes? Because mentioning an event where terrorists successfully overpowered human pilots doesn’t seem to be a great argument against AI pilots. More like an argument against human pilots.

      • A_A@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        2 years ago

        Sorry my comment was confusing and maybe my idea wasn’t that clear either. 911, which was an attack on the United States using airplanes, happed in part, I think, because there wasn’t enough protections. Also I feel that computer systems are much more vulnerable to attacks than physical systems where pilots and other people can protect critical infrastructures. With this in mind, I was trying to hint that automating airplanes this way could lead to more catastrophs.

    • GeneralVincent@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      2 years ago

      Wait are you in support or against AI airplanes? Because mentioning an event where terrorists successfully overpowered human pilots doesn’t seem to be a great argument against AI pilots. More like an argument against human pilots.