--- title: "Airline Exec Raves That AI Is So Good at Sending Flight Delay Texts It’s “Hard to Tell the Difference” From Human Work" description: "To keep fliers abreast of delays, United Airlines has developed AI that its C-suite thinks is indistinguishable from human labor." date: "2024-07-04" modified: "2024-07-04" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/united-exec-ai-flight-delay-texts" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "#airlines" - "flights" - "the digest" - "united airlines" --- # Airline Exec Raves That AI Is So Good at Sending Flight Delay Texts It’s “Hard to Tell the Difference” From Human Work ![To keep fliers abreast of delays, United Airlines has developed AI that its C-suite thinks is indistinguishable from human labor.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Good Grief To keep air travelers abreast of delays, United Airlines has developed a use of artificial intelligence that the C-suite thinks is indistinguishable from human labor. In an [interview with the *Wall Street Journal*]() about its flight update texts, United's chief information officer Jason Birnbaum bragged that the airline's AI used to send those messages can be very lifelike. "It got good enough," Birnbaum said, "it was hard to tell the difference." While automated updates about flight delays are nothing new, United differs from other airlines in the level of detail and frequency of messages it shares with customers. The airline employs what it calls "storytellers" to make the messages happen, and hires these call center-based employees from non-industry backgrounds to minimize jargon and make the messages seem more conversational. ## AI-re Fare Rolled out before the pandemic and used to alert customers to COVID-19 precautions during that first year, [United's flight update system]() broadened in 2021 as post-lockdown travel soared. And with it, the storytellers' messages became something of a punchline. "United is achingly transparent in their explanations," veteran travel analyst and frequent United flyer Henry Harteveldt told the *WSJ*. "It’s almost to the point where \[they say\] a member of the crew had a toothache and is at the dentist right now." As with other industries, [United uses AI]() to "assist" its human employees, and in the case of its messaging system, the storytellers are now tasked with reviewing generative alerts before they're blasted out to passengers — unless a flight is delayed more than an hour, in which case it gets the personal (read: human) touch. Otherwise, passengers are treated to what seems to us to be very obviously canned messages, such as "your flight is delayed because an earlier delay impacted your plane’s arrival." So much for indistinguishability. **More on airlines:** [*Boeing Planes Are Falling Apart, But Flying Is Still an Incredibly Safe Way to Travel*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()