Human–AI Teaming in the Cockpit: From Theory to Practice—Views from the Flightdeck

Crew Resource Management (CRM) in aviation is grounded in principles derived from human–human teamwork, such as the Big Five model of Teamwork (B5T). With the advent of AI-based systems, which could one day take on increasingly complex roles in the cockpit, it remains unclear whether these principles will remain applicable or risk becoming outdated. This study examines how human teamwork concepts translate to use-case-based human–AI collaboration. Five contemporary aviation human–AI teaming use cases are examined by two groups (four Human Factors experts and four professional pilots who are also CRM experts) using B5T and CRM as frameworks. Although the two expert groups are small and are reviewing use cases rather than observing actual pilot behaviour, these early findings suggest that teamwork (B5T) elements and CRM core competencies can be useful for identifying potential positive and negative impacts of AI-based systems on human teamworking, and hence operational risk. Candidate augmentations to B5T are identified to increase its adaptation to human–AI teaming system assessment, and preliminary new CRM training avenues are proposed to enable pilots to better accommodate future AI assistance in the cockpit.