"What's It Doing Now?" Why Pilots Know How to Talk to Autopilots
- Laura Laster
- 16 hours ago
- 2 min read
Recently, I listened to a podcast where the author proposed not being "kind" to AI. Full post here: https://wng.org/opinions/be-inconsiderate-to-ai-1762216164 The premise is that we are humanizing AI, and that's not a good thing.
This reminded me of how often I've heard pilots say, "What's it doing now?" when referring to the autopilot. This phrase is commonly heard on cockpit voice recorders - sometimes just before an accident/incident. It's been uttered in the flight deck so often that it's become an aviation catchphrase.
This is what should continue to happen with all interactions we humans have with non-human technologies, no matter how much creators of AI try to "humanize" it. How often have you referred to Siri or Alexa as a "she"? But do pilots ever refer to the autopilot as human? Besides the occasional calling the autopilot something like "George" or maybe even "Otto", most pilots don't tend to humanize the autopilot. Why is that?
Perhaps it's because the autopilot does not talk to us. It doesn't try to masquerade as human as we see AI's creators trying to do with their creations. When I set the autopilot to hold altitude or airspeed, it just does it. It's not "polite" and "friendly" like ChatGPT or Microsoft's aptly named "Copilot" [sarcasm!]. The autopilot has no designs on being human or taking the job away from the aviator in the pilot's seat who is the one in control of the operation.
So, I want society to start behaving like pilots, and stop humanizing AI. It's an "it", and that's all "it" will ever be. If you are to the point of saying, "What's it doing now?" about the AI in your life, congratulate yourself - once you make sure you're in a safe place with the automation surrounding you!
For extra reading, here's a sampling of articles from the aviation world on autopilots and the aviation phrase, "What's it doing now?"