Self-Flying Aircraft: Revolutionary or Redundant?

I recently stumbled across an article in FLYING Magazine that discusses the budding new idea of aircraft piloted by artificial intelligence. Not large commercial aircraft like a Boeing or a regional jet, but small-sized, electricity-powered VTOLs that can work as air-taxi transports. The article states that this could be possible by 2035 thanks to efforts by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and the FAA has already completed a research plan to map out certification of the use of AI or machine learning in aeronautical operations (Patterson). The main ethical questions pondered in this article include the possibility of AI error, trust of this system by the major population, and what precautions can be made to avert a tragic situation in flight.

The ethical topic of machines replacing the duties and services that people already take care of intrigues me; especially when factors such as jobs and AI error are considered. Automation in the car-building industry is a similar example of this kind of ethical situation. No AI is involved that tells the machinery what to do when making a car, but while many open jobs and labor are removed for humans to earn some money, the machines work faster and for free (minus the electrical bill). As we approach a more tech-savvy future, a barrier between humanity and autonomy must always be considered when discussing just how far technology should be evolved.

One of the eVTOLs currently being developed. [Courtesy: Yahoo]

While the safety and reliability of the onboard AI itself is considered the most in FLYING Magazine's article, I personally believe that the true ethics of this story lie in the ability for human pilots to have this kind of service as a job. Even though the article states that human error in an emergency situation is just as possible as error in the AI's thinking (Patterson), an easy task of moving small numbers of people from one place to another in mostly clear airspace sounds like a great early job to be employed in, and may spark a new interest in flying jobs across the world. Because so many of the commercial and big-time pilot jobs were abandoned during the pandemic, this opportunity could be a great first start for pilots who could soon apply to airlines during their career and still have plenty of prior experience in the air. Not that all eVTOLs have to be human-piloted only, but having all AI-piloted vehicles would make people think less of getting behind the controls themselves and enjoying an exhilarating career path in aviation. This is something that I really think should be considered as the development of AI/ML in aeronautics continues.

References:

Patterson, T. (2022, March 1). How will self-flying aircraft make ethical choices?. FLYING Magazine. https://www.flyingmag.com/how-will-self-flying-aircraft-make-ethical-choices/ (Patterson)

Richardson, A. (2023, April 11). Flying cars are here: Evtol startups and Ai are powering a modern-day “jetsons” future. Yahoo! Finance. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/flying-cars-evtol-startups-ai-161945494.html (Yahoo)