By Dina Abd Elghany
We have been told that the machine now thinks, feels, decides, and interacts; that the pulse of human insight and intuition can be reduced to code; that experience and a lifetime of learning and perseverance can be downloaded like an app or a program.
And that the trust-offered to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, which they refused to bear, but man accepted-can now be delegated to a cold algorithm! In a world dazzled by the brilliance of innovation, artificial intelligence, and technology-neglecting the sensitivity and importance of the human element (the most crucial part of this equation)-Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become the goal rather than the means.
But questions arise including: Is this a conflict or a partnership? Is this shiny brilliance real or artificial? Does the overwhelming presence of AI in air traffic control signal advancement and excellence, or is it a warning of a collapse that threatens the core of the profession? Is the growing penetration of AI in air traffic control elevating the profession to new heights, or is it the beginning of reducing the critical role of the human element? Does the human element-this beating heart and masterminding brain-remain a certainty, or just an option?
The Increasing Role of AI In Air Traffic Control
There is no doubt that AI has become a key and central player in various sectors of civil aviation in terms of precision, speed, the ability to process enormous amounts of data, accurate algorithms and calculations, and response speed that, in many programs, is almost instantaneous. All of this has made AI a kind of “wizard.” In civil aviation-and especially air traffic control-AI now provides controllers with all possible scenarios, capabilities, and decisions regarding traffic congestion at points and on airways, potential conflicts, and outcomes of using suboptimal separation techniques. It even offers pros and cons of different separation methods, optimal solutions, and alternatives. AI can track entire flight paths, monitor pilot performance- technically, professionally, and scientifically-similar to (FLIGHT RADAR) applications, providing full tracking and profiling from takeoff to landing, integrating all radar data, satellite-linked stations, and sonar devices that represent real-time monitoring systems. It doesn’t stop there-AI also includes advanced weather prediction and forecasting systems that anticipate all weather phenomena in terms of location, shape, formation, movement, and consequences, providing air traffic controllers with suitable protection measures, expected complications, solutions, and the risks of ignoring them.
Furthermore, AI has improved inputs and outputs in air traffic control not only in terms of operations and flow but also in enhancing safety systems and improving performance and quality. Through AI products and applications, global systems now benefit from huge support and development in navigational and logistical services, aiding in better decision-making.
AI Is Not Without Its Challenges
Despite all these technological revolutions, there are still security breaches, violations of civil rights, copyright infringements, patent thefts, system failures, and breakdowns in modern and older technologies. Everything still requires constant maintenance. “When you open doors to artificial minds, you close windows to privacy.”
AI has shifted from a tool of ambition to a double-edged sword: offering protection while enabling surveillance and threatening human sovereignty over privacy-and even over the future. We are at the threshold of a more intelligent security age, governed by a cold logic that knows no mercy and cannot distinguish between doubt and certainty. And despite its tremendous capabilities and dazzling shine, AI remains a machine-it does not feel! It does not panic! It does not empathize! It does not doubt! Therefore, it does not bear moral or security responsibility. That responsibility lies with the human element-the trust-who can sense what is permissible and what is not.
Human Input Still Remains Critical In the Era of AI
AI is ultimately a tool, a system that depends entirely on human provided inputs-it does only what it is told. The heart and mind understand that some human decisions are not made based on data alone. Human insight-God-given-is what allows us to choose the logical rather than the imposed solution. As powerful as AI is, it still faces challenges in air traffic control: unpredictable events beyond algorithmic computation, emergencies requiring human experience and judgment to make quick, intuitive, and wise decisions.
Yes, as air traffic controllers, we make mistakes. We are affected, feel, hesitate, and doubt. (After all, we are human-and every genius idea is born from the womb of error itself!) It is part of our divine creation to learn, grow, innovate, decide, act wisely, and trust in God while using reason.
Human Intelligence And AI Will Coexist
So where is the dilemma? Why insist on replacing one with the other? Why look for alternatives rather than integration? AI is not the enemy of man. It is not a replacement. Never. And the human element has no rival in AI threatening his legacy or existence. Never. AI is the product of human genius: from the algorithms and inventions of Newton, Einstein, Galileo, and John McCarthy (a founding father of AI in 1955). The outcome: they complete each other. The equation only bears fruit when both variables (X + Y) are present. Life is built on duality-not separation. True harmony is in complementarity, not substitution. The human mind and AI are not opponents in a boxing ring competing for dominance. They are wings of the same aircraft-neither can fly without the other. Let each take its rightful place with honor. Let us join hands with what we created to rise together.