Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ve probably noticed the recent, and worrying, uptick in Artificial Intelligence in our day-to-day lives. It’s an almost certainty that you’ve seen an AI photo without realizing it was AI or read an article that wasn’t penned by a human. The reality is that AI is here to stay and is only going to get more prevalent.
Pilots are notoriously hesitant to incorporate new technology, and in the case of AI, that may not be a bad thing. I’m not ashamed to admit that I have started using programs like ChatGPT more and more frequently. The time saving of having ChatGPT summarize a lengthy document, proofread an article, create an excel sheet, or dumb down a complex topic cannot be understated. Utilizing AI in General Aviation can also be advantageous but needs to approached with an abundance of caution.
Earlier in the year I flew the AOPA Sweepstakes 182 from Frederick, MD to Buckeye, AZ. A VFR across the country cross-country is a daunting flight to plan which led me to experimenting with what ChatGPT could do for me in this scenario. I asked it to simply plan a flight from A to B considering fuel burn of the 182, terrain, airspace, weather, NOTAMS, fuel cost, all the usual considerations when planning a long flight. The results it provided ranged from unexpectedly impressive to wildly incorrect and without some manual digging you wouldn’t notice the difference between the two. It did fantastic at calculating fuel burn taking into account winds aloft and was strikingly accurate at how far I could safely make it on each leg which was surprising. It failed miserably at what I would consider to be the easier information to figure it. At multiple suggested stops it provided incorrect frequencies and even provided a nav frequency as CTAF. It also flew me straight through multiple restricted areas in southern New Mexico. Without also manually planning the flight these potential issues could easily go unnoticed.
For an experienced pilot the pitfalls of using AI for flight planning are easily recognizable, however, for a PPL student this can pose a huge problem. Just like GPS has led to a generation of “children of the magenta-line”, leaning hard on AI can weaker core pilot skills that are foundational to being a safe, proficient, and knowledgeable pilot.
As with all technology both in and out of the cockpit, AI can be a great supplement to our bag of tools, but it should be heavily scrutinized. Afterall, the NTSB report is still going to list you as PIC, not ChatGPT.
