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I find it really hard not to cynically and instinctively view something like this as greenwashing. Making airlines more eco friendly is kinda like making murder

I find it really hard not to cynically and instinctively view something like this as greenwashing. Making airlines more eco friendly is kinda like making murder more humane. My jaded take aside, its really cool to see advanced AI being used for legitimate technical solutions.

danpalmer 3y ago
I guess the difference is that murder is not necessary for society to function, whereas air travel basically is for the level of functioning that we have expected for 60-70 years now. Airlines are not great companies, but we do need to find a green version of air travel, and that’s likely to be a multi-pronged approach of reducing demand, moving shorter flights to electric aircraft, making other air travel less carbon intensive, and carbon capture. Those will all require cooperation of airlines.
- kobalsky 3y ago
  people could also travel less. some of it is necessary. but it’s ridiculous how much people travel
  - danpalmer 3y ago
    Indeed, I did list reduced demand as part of the solution, but eliminating air travel is completely unrealistic and unfortunately long distance electric powered air travel is also technologically infeasible for the foreseeable future, so we do need other options to reduce air travel to net zero.
bratgpttamer 3y ago
I tend to agree, but the IEA regularly puts out reports on technology assessments and their projected impact, and, IIRC, last year's report had bumped up the priority of the "Aviation" category. I recall the gist of it being that technologies like LEDs, EVs, building systems, and heat pumps were coming along nicely, but things like grid storage, air travel, and something else remained stubborn problems. That is, I wouldn't be surprised if this was (however indirectly) tied to real, high-level global objectives. Since air transport isn't going away, I'd expect a bunch of these micro-optimizations in the future (especially because of battery limitations).
midoridensha 3y ago
Airplanes are already eco-friendly when you compare to SUVs, in terms of fuel consumed per person per kilometer traveled. There's room to improve, and considering how important air travel is to the modern world, it needs to be done. If you want to reduce carbon pollution, do something about the billions of people driving around in oversized steel cages everywhere. The airlines have room to improve, but you can't travel between continents any other way in a reasonable time. Most people don't really need cars (and certainly not SUVs); they just think they do because they bought into societies that have stupidly designed themselves with too-low density and the assumption that everyone has a car.

danpalmer 3y ago

I guess the difference is that murder is not necessary for society to function, whereas air travel basically is for the level of functioning that we have expected for 60-70 years now. Airlines are not great companies, but we do need to find a green version of air travel, and that’s likely to be a multi-pronged approach of reducing demand, moving shorter flights to electric aircraft, making other air travel less carbon intensive, and carbon capture. Those will all require cooperation of airlines.

kobalsky 3y ago
people could also travel less. some of it is necessary. but it’s ridiculous how much people travel
- danpalmer 3y ago
  Indeed, I did list reduced demand as part of the solution, but eliminating air travel is completely unrealistic and unfortunately long distance electric powered air travel is also technologically infeasible for the foreseeable future, so we do need other options to reduce air travel to net zero.

bratgpttamer 3y ago

I tend to agree, but the IEA regularly puts out reports on technology assessments and their projected impact, and, IIRC, last year's report had bumped up the priority of the "Aviation" category. I recall the gist of it being that technologies like LEDs, EVs, building systems, and heat pumps were coming along nicely, but things like grid storage, air travel, and something else remained stubborn problems. That is, I wouldn't be surprised if this was (however indirectly) tied to real, high-level global objectives. Since air transport isn't going away, I'd expect a bunch of these micro-optimizations in the future (especially because of battery limitations).

midoridensha 3y ago

Airplanes are already eco-friendly when you compare to SUVs, in terms of fuel consumed per person per kilometer traveled. There's room to improve, and considering how important air travel is to the modern world, it needs to be done. If you want to reduce carbon pollution, do something about the billions of people driving around in oversized steel cages everywhere. The airlines have room to improve, but you can't travel between continents any other way in a reasonable time. Most people don't really need cars (and certainly not SUVs); they just think they do because they bought into societies that have stupidly designed themselves with too-low density and the assumption that everyone has a car.