Viewpoint: Using AI As A Co-Pilot For Safer Decisions

Flying has never been a solo act. From analog gauges to smart avionics and glass cockpits, technology has always shared the flight deck with humans. Now, generative artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, is joining the crew.

AI’s role isn’t to replace pilots or managers—it’s to help aviation professionals make smarter, safer, faster decisions in our service-based industry.

What Does Service Have to Do with Safety?

In business aviation, nearly every mission serves someone—whether it is moving people, moving goods or moving a company forward.

Every passenger steps aboard trusting that the operation will keep them safe and provide an impeccable travel experience. It’s a promise upheld by aviation professionals—from mechanics and schedulers to pilots, flight attendants and those working quietly behind the scenes.

Where Do People, Process and Technology Intersect?

Success with any business initiative relies on balancing people, process and technology. Yet even the most advanced systems can fail without proper training or implementation. And when talented teams are held back by slow or outdated technology, progress stalls and inefficiencies occur. When that happens, organizational culture suffers, which often leads to turnover, recruiting challenges and customer service shortfalls, the death knell of any company.

It’s easy to hear the “buzz” and predictions about AI replacing humans and automating everything. While some predictions prove true, how far this technology will advance remains open to debate—not just in what’s possible, but in what’s likely. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should. Let’s explore this idea.

How Can AI Strengthen Risk Management?

Aviation safety is about reducing risk by managing hazards, and risk is a subjective judgment. Business aviation has ever-changing hazards from multiple factors: people (CRM and passengers); equipment (aircraft and GSE); environment (weather, airports, facilities); regulatory (domestic and international); other operators in the national air service; and even the financial health of each operating company.

Determining the “best” mitigation strategy isn’t always possible—or necessary. After all, we might not afford the ideal solution, execute it effectively, or have passengers willing to pay for it. Achieving the mission with an acceptable risk is what matters. This is where judgment comes in—and where our aviation professionals excel. They turn information into insight, analyzing data, weighing options and choosing the actions that lead to the best outcome. 

When considering the safety of a flight, crews must be informed about what they need to know. Over the decades, technology has improved this process, making information accessible. But more information isn’t always better. Data overload is real, and no crew can absorb every rule, procedure, regulation, manual or bulletin relevant materials relating to their flight. In aviation’s unforgiving environment, missing or forgetting a critical detail can have catastrophic consequences.

This is where AI can truly augment the process—helping people focus by delivering the right information at the right time. Generative AI excels at distilling massive amounts of data into concise summaries. However, it can also “hallucinate,” producing inaccurate content. We cannot take its output at face value. It might suggest solutions or approaches, but the final decision still rests with the pilot in command and the organization.

Even when deviations from standard procedures occur, sometimes they are the safest choice—whether preapproved via a waiver or made in the moment. Those decisions will remain human for the foreseeable future.

What’s Next for AI in Business Aviation?

Generative AI will enhance many areas of business aviation. It will automate and simplify time-consuming tasks, shifting how responsibilities and resources are distributed. Yet the final step—decision-making—will continue to rely on human judgment, especially in our customer-service-driven industry.

At its core, business aviation is about enabling safe, seamless operations. When people have the right information at the right moment, they make better decisions. Within this framework, AI becomes a trusted copilot—helping every professional in business aviation fly smarter.

Steve Bruneau serves as vice president of aviation at Polaris Aero. With more than 25 years of experience, he advances performance and compliance by integrating people, process and technology.