{
  "id": 14305407,
  "title": "Lawmakers ask FAA to pause use of new AI tool in Washington-area flight management",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/lawmakers-ask-faa-to-pause-use-of-new-ai-tool-in-washington-area",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-13T22:24:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Jerusalem Post",
    "slug": "jerusalem-post",
    "url": "https://www.jpost.com/international/article-911616"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A group of over two dozen lawmakers have urged the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to halt the deployment of a new AI tool in the Washington, D.C. airspace, citing safety concerns. The lawmakers, including Democratic Representatives April Delaney, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Don Beyer, raised their concerns in a letter, expressing a lack of safety evaluation and training for aviation personnel on the tool's usage. They requested a response by October 19.\n\nThe lawmakers are particularly worried about the integration of AI systems into air traffic control, where decisions are life or death matters, as stated by Ocasio-Cortez. The letter was also signed by Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representatives Jamie Raskin, Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Kweisi Mfume.\n\nThe FAA initiated the use of a new AI tool based on predictive analytics to enhance flight management in June, awarding an $875 million, 12-year contract to Air Space Intelligence for the Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories (SMART) system. The AI tool analyzes data on airline schedules, weather, airport capacity, airspace conditions, and operational constraints to forecast traffic flows and identify potential conflicts before they occur. Currently, the AI tool is being tested in the Washington, D.C. airspace with plans to roll it out to other regions across the country.\n\nTransportation Secretary Sean Duffy emphasized that air traffic controllers, not the software, remain in charge of managing the airspace, describing the tool as \"dumb AI.\" The system utilizes over 200 data streams, generates data visualizations, and provides scheduling recommendations for operations experts to consider. However, the system does not directly manage planes in the sky and is primarily used for rescheduling flights affected by adverse weather conditions. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford touted the AI tool's potential to transform decision-making in airspace management, stating that better decision-making tools will lead to improved outcomes.",
  "summary": "\"It's going to be transformational,\" FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told Reuters earlier. \"We'll make much better decisions if we have better decision-making tools.\"",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/14305407.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Lawmakers ask FAA to pause use of new AI tool in DC-area flight management",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/lawmakers-ask-faa-to-pause-use-of-new-ai-tool-in-dc-area-flight",
        "published": "2026-10-13T18:01:54.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Investing.com",
        "title": "Lawmakers ask FAA to pause use of new AI tool in DC-area flight management",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/lawmakers-ask-faa-to-pause-use-of-new-ai-tool-in-dc-area-flight-14264210",
        "published": "2026-10-13T18:06:51.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}