Originally Posted by
ChickenHouse
Short-range radar does the technical trick in your example, not the computer. There is nothing wrong with the pilot using it, so no difference other than the responsibility kept at a human.
Not quite true. Yes, we can also use additional tools, like a short range radar, but we all remember the standing priority order "Aviate, navigate, communicate". This shows that we are prone to task saturatiion, like turning this radar on while fighting to restart the engines. Unlike humans, a computer has no problem to follow 2 checklists simultaneously.... one for re-lighting the engines, the other for ditching. So the more input/information we can provide to pilots / computer to make correct decisions, the better computers can perform against humans.
I want to live in a world with emotional bias, not cold blooded and cold hearted algorithms.
I believe emotions are indispensible for art or sports, because it stimulates humans. On the other hand, emotions cloud professional decisions. Case in point: the emotional feeling of get-there-itis is a major killing factor in GA through poor decision making. Other professions are also trying to limit the effect of emotions on decisions. For example, if you have a medical doctor in your family, he/she is not supposed to operate on you, it has to be an independent team in the operating room, to make sure the right decisions are taken for your interest. For example, in an emergency situation, they might cut your leg to save your life, while your family member would try everything to save your leg and as a result, run out of time and lose you entirely.
I prefer a human taking decisions, even if it does produce more fatalities in some case. It will safe more in another situation where the dump-headed programmer from Far Far Away was simply wrong.
It's a race between the two alternatives and recent accidents indicate that the humans tend to get worse. Regarding the Far Far Away programmer, any automated aircraft would have to undergo a Very Near Authority certification as well. Moreover the food and aviation industries are extremely good at tracking down the source of every apple or aircraft part / line of program code, so in case of troubles, it can be traced back and the responsible can be identified, recurrence can be stopped.
The solution to use technology advancing rapidly is quite simple, only let a human take control who understands what she/he is doing and is talented to perform, not push buttons only. Yes, this would cut i.e. the beloved holiday cattle flying to a minimum and prices for it will go through the roof, but so be it.
Fair point, but people will vote with their purchasing power, as usual, price is a major factor and airline competition is cut-throat. No one will try to go back in time and raise ticket fares (very tangible) for the sake of increasing safety (very intangible).
My guess is that automation will anyway gradually sneak into aviation in this order:
1. Cargo flights: Human: pilot flying, Computer: pilot monitoring.
2. Cargo flights: Computer: pilot flying, Human: pilot monitoring.
3. Cargo flights: Computer: pilot flying, Human on the ground: remote pilot monitoring.
And then the same steps for passenger flights.
Whether we like it, or not.
Next 50 years.