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For those like me who, though not a pilot, enjoy watching Aircrash Investigation and similar programs, and finds the investigations and findings inspiring/sober

by tobych 10y ago

For those like me who, though not a pilot, enjoy watching Aircrash Investigation and similar programs, and finds the investigations and findings inspiring/sobering/educational as a software engineer, and like me weren't aware of the "Children of [the] Magenta" phrase, this article and audio piece [1] looks a good place to start. The phrase was used in a 1997 presentation - available publicly [2] - by American Airlines captain Warren Van Der Burgh, who said that (quoting the article's summary of his words): "The industry has turned pilots into “Children of the Magenta” who are too dependent on the guiding magenta-colored lines on their screens." He makes his case with some very funny lines, too. Quite the humorist: "I got stuff to worry about, don't I. Heads up stuff. It's probably not a good time to be typing." [3] immediately precedes his explanation of the phrase. [1] http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/children-of-the-magenta-automation-paradox-pt-1/ http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/children-of-the-magent... [2] https://youtu.be/pN41LvuSz10 https://youtu.be/pN41LvuSz10 [3] https://youtu.be/pN41LvuSz10?t=510 https://youtu.be/pN41LvuSz10?t=510

ghaff 10y ago
It's an area of ongoing research as well, e.g. the Humans and Autonomy Lab at Duke. (Missy Cummings, who is the director of the lab, used to be a Navy fighter pilot.) I expect we'll hear a lot more on this topic. Assuming you're at all skeptical about the timeframe for full automobile driving automation, it seems a certainty that we'll have a (significant) period when stuff works most of the time--until it doesn't. And, given that lots of people drive distracted today, what's it going to look like when the car can drive down the highway most of the time on its own?