More than two dozen Democratic lawmakers are calling on the Federal Aviation Administration to pause the use of an artificial intelligence-powered air traffic control tool that launched last month at the three main D.C.-area airports, citing safety concerns.
The software uses AI to analyze airline schedules and factors such as weather to predict air traffic flows and identify potential problems, according to an FAA fact sheet.
“We are deeply concerned about the integration of any AI-enabled system into air traffic control systems, where decisions are literally a matter of life or death,” the lawmakers wrote to Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA administrator Bryan Bedford.
Signatories include Democratic Reps. April McClain Delaney (Maryland), Don Beyer (Virginia) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York), as well as Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland).
The Transportation Department plans to expand the tool to other airports. But the lawmakers said they had not seen any safety evaluation reports or been made aware of efforts to train aviation safety personnel on using the tool.
The FAA did not respond to a request for comment.
In a separate letter Tuesday, 23 Democratic lawmakers wrote to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, expressing concern about the software’s “potential to interfere with decision-making by experienced air traffic controllers or to hallucinate safety-critical information.”
In September, an FAA spokesperson said the tool is being used out of the agency’s command center in Warrenton, Virginia, with recommendations sent to air traffic control colleagues. Duffy said earlier this year that AI will not replace humans in managing the nation’s airspace.
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