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More than four years after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency released its first artificial intelligence roadmap, the Federal Aviation Administration has done the same, signaling its alignment with the emerging industry consensus on how to approach AI in commercial aviation — with an emphasis on treating AI as a tool, not a human.
There are no real surprises in the roadmap, which was quietly released at a meeting for subject matter experts on July 24. The 31-page “living document” describes how the FAA plans to develop methods to assure the safety of AI and identifies seven guiding principles, all of which support an incremental, safety-focused approach to deploying the technology within the existing aviation ecosystem. This methodical approach stands in striking contrast to many other, less regulated industries, which have rushed to adopt AI without careful evaluation of the potential consequences.
Related: TAC Forum: Understanding AI in aviation
While the FAA has long since ceded leadership in AI to EASA — whose focus on the technology is aligned with the priorities of its largest customer, Airbus — the publication of its AI roadmap is nevertheless a welcome development, providing the industry with clarity on its position and the agency with a definite strategy for moving forward.
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