C3.AI Top Executive Possesses High Aviation Quotient

Flying is an important aspect of Tom Siebel's life, and training is the foundation.

Monday, September 09, 2024 at 08:49 AM ET

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Tom Siebel, the chairman and CEO of C3.AI, poses outside company headquarters in Redwood City, California. [Jeff Berlin]

Key Takeaways:

Tom Siebel, a prominent tech leader, is an extremely passionate and dedicated pilot, committing 50% of his extensive flight hours to continuous training and safety, even embracing aerobatics in his 60s.
Despite his background in artificial intelligence, Siebel believes fully autonomous pilotless aircraft are not imminent due to their immense complexity, but highlights AI's valuable role in assisting pilots and enabling predictive maintenance to increase aircraft availability.
Aviation is deeply integrated into Siebel's life, serving not only as a recreation and business tool but also as a platform for philanthropy, such as hosting an annual fly-in to fund college scholarships.

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Whether you immediately recognize the name Tom Siebel or not, you’re likely familiar with the companies he’s led—Oracle, Siebel Systems, and C3.AI. Siebel is founder, president, and chairman of C3.AI. And if you’re curious, or even concerned, about pilots with actual intelligence being replaced by artificial intelligence, you’ll be as interested as I was to hear Siebel’s opinion about it. More on that later.

One of the things I love about aviation is that it’s the great equalizer. Being a pilot is a shared space that seems to allow who you are and what you’ve accomplished melt into the background for a while allowing the experience and joy of flying an aircraft to become the tie that binds. And if you’re paying attention, there’s almost always something you can learn from listening to another pilot.