You give computers way more credit that I do.
Guess you and your loved ones will have no problem getting seats on such an aircraft. I'll wait a while~

Motch

no, I just have a rudimentary understanding of what computers do. They’re very good at things like (hypothetically) managing a runway change, because the steps are well-defined. Navaids, performance, wind, etc are all just steps in the checklist.

it’s the ad-hoc decision making part that’s hard for computers. A runway change ain’t it.

Our opinions tend to err in favor of our personal interests. Tech guys with skin in the game overstate the sophistication of the technology, pilots whose career is on the line overstate its limitations. I think the actual technology is more capable than a lot here are giving it credit for, but I agree with those who say the regulatory hurdles coupled with the cost, complexity, & timeline of building up all the infrastructure put this transition decades off.

Do you have any idea how many people/man hours it takes to put (and keep) a GH in the air? It’s a LOT. Like, orders of magnitude more than say a 737. They also operate from dedicated facilities, at very low volume. Flying turns out of ORD? Ha!!! (And that’s after 20 years of maturity NOT flying for profit).

The day you can build a 100% secure, hack proof, cost effective wireless network, we can have this discussion. Until then…

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while I do think computers have a long way to go before they will replace us, they have come a long way since July 20, 1969.

also a runway assignment change is what computers would be good at, plenty of other areas humans outperform computers, but dealing with data sets (basically what a runway change entails) is not one of them.

What if the computer is programed to avoid a change within x miles of the airport, or within y minutes?

Sure, when you brief a 8 and then they swing the airport around, you brief the 26. But when they change it to a 27 and after you start a turn towards the airport they go back and ask you if you want the 26... what will the computer do?

Keep in mind, those of us who have flown EWR have (probably) been told to side step to the other runway AFTER having been cleared to land on the first one.
As pilots, we evaluate the risk and do what we do to keep the system running.

As someone already mentioned- look forward to seeing how they incorparte these pilotless aircraft into ORD, or the NYC area.
Many of us have seen how they have "tried" to do that in the overseas conflict areas (Afghanistan, Iraq..). Not as easy as some may think.

But till then, WE have an aircraft to fly.. and other things to worry about.
Fly Safe, Fly Professionally & Fly the Contract
Motch

I'd expect another pilot 'age change' due to a shortage of pilots before autonomous commercial airliners.

That’s more of an A/I thing. Even the established military RPAs aren’t there yet. Still a dude at some type of controls whether a keyboard or more typical station. And emergencies, forget about it. Just blow it up or ditch it. Hell, some are just meant to blown up to start with (QF-4/QF-16). Probably not the best selling point for a discount fare.

In this scenario, the computer would probably decline the offer if within “x miles or y minutes.”