Pilotless: This Is Your Robot Speaking

Once we’ve accepted driverless cars, what about pilotless airliners? Is that a bridge too far?

Peter Garrison

Friday, June 27, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

There’s a difference between remotely-piloted aircraft and completely autonomous ones. [Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

The growing acceptance of driverless cars in daily life paves the way for the eventual adoption and public comfort with pilotless airliners.
While human pilots are lauded for their heroic "MacGyver" actions in rare emergencies, the article contends that human error is a more frequent factor in aviation incidents, which AI could prevent.
Modern AI, leveraging machine learning and neural networks, can be trained through thousands of simulations to effectively manage both routine and extreme, unforeseen flight emergencies, potentially surpassing human capabilities.
The author predicts that pilotless aircraft will become commonplace, eventually being perceived as a safer and more reliable alternative to human-crewed planes.

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I’m not sure what’s gained by putting ride-share drivers out of work, but driverless cars have become a common sight in Los Angeles. I seldom drive any distance without encountering one of Waymo’s white Jaguar SUVs, its roof and fenders barnacled with spinning sensors and its front seats empty.I’ve followed them in traffic for miles—they drive well. I’ve tried to book a ride, but the hilly neighborhood of narrow, winding streets in which I live lies just outside their comfort zone. Give them another six months.

A few years ago, a survey found almost 80 percent of respondents unwilling to ride in a driverless car. I don’t know what the fraction would be today, but I’ll bet it’s shrunk. One of my least adventurous friends reported that after a few minutes of a Waymo ride she felt perfectly comfortable—a triumph of experience over imagination.