Although artificial intelligence isn’t expected to replace pilots in aircraft anytime soon, experts in the field believe the new technology is already completely changing how airlines operate.
“Data and AI are fantastic levers for the aviation sector,” declared Julie Pozzi, Air France-KLM’s head of data science and AI, before the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) 80th congress in Dubai.
At the prestigious annual global airline summit in the United Arab Emirates on Monday, airline executives will convene to discuss the newest developments in the sector, including planned artificial intelligence projects.
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AI is the newest tool that aviation companies, which have long been accustomed to low-profit margins, may use to increase production and gain a competitive edge.
“In that it’s an extraordinary acceleration of technology and capabilities,” AI is “undoubtedly a new frontier,” according to Geoffrey Weston, lead consultant for the airline industry at US-based Bain & Company.
“When you have a lot of uncertainty, what AI is really helpful for is to hugely accelerate getting the right information to the right people as quickly as possible,” he stated.
With “more than 40 projects using generative artificial intelligence,” Air France-KLM is doing just that. Like the now-famous ChatGPT, this technology is designed to get better as it is used.
The French-Dutch corporation has plans to implement a solution that can reply to clients in eighty-five different languages. In 2025, it is anticipated to become operational at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and be installed on the tablets that Air France agents use.
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Groupe ADP, the airport operator, has also started working with startups on several AI projects. One such project is Allobrain, which uses voice recognition to answer calls to the airport.
According to ADP’s innovation division head, Alban Negret, “the number of unanswered phone calls from 50 percent to 10 percent” has decreased.
The airport operator is hoping to use Wintics, another subcontractor that specializes in data extraction from real-time surveillance photos, to help expedite drop-off zones and shuttle rotations.
However, according to Bouchard, “all this requires enormous coordination and data synchronization,” which is now lacking.
Experts assert that modern aircraft, with their advanced control and self-diagnostic systems, are data factories that can be utilized with artificial intelligence.
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However, they claim that leaving everything to algorithms is a no-brainer when flying the aircraft.
After all, “it is up to humans to take responsibility for decision-making,” as Thales CEO Patrice Caine stated in March.
“Rather than artificial intelligence, I would speak of assisted intelligence, which assists humans.”
