Article
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The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Future Aviation Safety Culture
Version 1
: Received: 22 January 2024 / Approved: 23 January 2024 / Online: 23 January 2024 (09:25:47 CET)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Kirwan, B. The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Future Aviation Safety Culture. Future Transp. 2024, 4, 349-379. Kirwan, B. The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Future Aviation Safety Culture. Future Transp. 2024, 4, 349-379.
Abstract
Artificial Intelligence is developing at a rapid place, with examples of Machine Learning already utilized in aviation to improve efficiency. In the coming decade it is likely that Intelligent Assistants (IAs) or ‘Digital Colleagues’ will be developed and deployed to assist aviation personnel in the cockpit, the air traffic control centre and airports. This will be a game-changer and may herald the way forward for single pilot operations, AI-based management of Urban Mobility including fleets of drones and sky-taxis, and more carbon-efficient transport across global commercial transport networks. Yet in aviation there is a core underlying tenet that ‘people make safety’ and keep the skies and passengers safe, based on a robust industry-wide safety culture. The introduction of IAs into aviation could potentially undermine aviation’s hard-won track record in this area. This paper applies a scientifically validated safety culture tool to explore the potential impacts of the introduction of IAs into aviation. The results suggest that there are indeed potential negative outcomes, but also possible safety ‘affordances’ wherein AI could strengthen safety culture. Safeguards and mitigations are suggested for the key ‘risk owners’ in aviation organisations, to ensure safety remains a priority in the industry.
Keywords
Aviation; Artificial Intelligence; Safety Culture
Subject
Social Sciences, Transportation
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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