The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reportedly wants an ownership stake in the private AI software company Air Space Intelligence, according to an internal FAA document seen by POLITICO.
This comes after the federal agency awarded a 12-year contract to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) startup in June, aimed at modernising the U.S.’s air traffic management system.
Is it a done deal?
POLITICO reported on Oct. 15 that the internal document revealed the FAA had a term sheet for an equity stake in Air Space Intelligence, outlining a nonbinding plan for a business deal.
This would be the first publicly known agreement of the kind, but it is unclear if it will be realised.
The document also shows that a warrant is being negotiated, which would give the FAA, and thus the U.S. government, the right to buy or sell the AI company’s stock at a fixed price during a certain period.
Neither the FAA nor Air Space Intelligence have commented.
SMART’s deployment
Under the terms of the existing 12-year, $875 million contract, the AI startup provides the Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories system (SMART), which uses flight schedules, weather, airport capacity data and other factors to predict air traffic.
The FAA began using the AI-powered tool in September to help manage flights at three Washington airports: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Dulles International Airport (IAD), and Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI).
Amid concerns raised by airlines and other industry players, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters during a press conference for SMART’s launch that:
“There is a lot of conversation about AI and who is controlling the airspace,” but added that “it’s always going to be a human that manages the airspace in America.”
U.S. lawmakers worry
On Oct. 13, more than two dozen U.S. lawmakers, including Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, pleaded with the FAA to suspend SMART use at Washington-area airports over safety concerns. The public letter stated:
“We are deeply concerned about the integration of any AI-enabled system into air traffic control systems, where decisions are literally a matter of life or death.”
It also raised a reported lack of transparency, as:
“[Lawmakers] have not seen any safety evaluation and testing reports, nor have we been made aware of any efforts to train aviation safety personnel on how best to use the tool.”
The letter sought a response by Oct. 19, but none has been made public at the time of writing.
Sean Duffy previously assured that the tool would not replace air traffic controllers and is intended only to give them recommendations and improve efficiency.
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