GE Aerospace: 100+ AI Specialists Drive Aviation Innovation

TLDR:

• What happened: GE Aerospace is expanding its use of artificial intelligence across its operations, including engine inspection processes and predictive maintenance services.
• Why it matters: This approach to AI integration demonstrates the importance of focusing on trustworthy data, model transparency, and human involvement in AI-driven processes for successful implementation in complex industries.

GE Aerospace is ramping up its artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives across its business operations. The company now boasts one of the largest AI-related patent portfolios in the aviation industry and employs over 100 AI and data science specialists.

David Burns, GE Aerospace’s Chief Information Officer, acknowledges the company’s ongoing learning journey in AI. “We’ve got to make sure that our pace of learning keeps up with the pace that technology is evolving,” he stated during a recent briefing.

The company has successfully integrated machine-learning models into automated inspection processes and predictive maintenance services. GE Aerospace monitors data from 44,000 in-service engines during every flight, using AI to predict maintenance issues before they become problematic.

Jayesh Shanbhag, Vice President of Customer Experience, explained: “We are able to detect through analytics and through AI models an anomaly on an oil filter sensor [if] the signal that we are getting back is not in the normal parameters.”

GE Aerospace’s AI strategy centres on three principles: using trustworthy data, ensuring model transparency, and maintaining human involvement. Burns emphasised, “AI is great to bring decision recommendations [and] insights forward, but we’re really focused on making sure we’ve got humans in the loop on everything we’re doing with AI.”