23 if only to manage the sheer volume of information available. Machines someday will augment human thinking as much as they have revolutionized human physical abilities, she said. Howard sees a future that involves a much more immediate exchange of knowledge, such as thoughts and ideas from person to machine or even person to person, using technology as an enabler. “We will be inserting information, injecting it directly into the human brain, and, in turn, translating human thought into complex commands,” Howard said. “Whether Boeing owns that technology or whether we just use it, we will be transferring information from a senior mechanic or engineer to a novice, training our users in a fraction of the time, and ultimately designing and operating aircraft simply by thought.” Finally, 100 years from now, it won’t be all that surprising to view a Boeing factory floor, and perhaps other Boeing work environments, where artificial intelligence has a more substantial presence, according to Tillotson, the systems technology chief engineer for Boeing Research & Technology. He envisions robots performing a majority of the structural work in the future, able to do repetitive and strenuous tasks without North American Aviation is founded as a manufacturing company. UATC is split up and Boeing Airplane Co. is re-established. 1934 PT-13/PT-17 Kaydet trainer The famous “Stearman” biplane trainer was the main U.S. primary trainer used during the Second World War. Beginning with Model 70 in 1934 and including spare parts and kits, Boeing Wichita had produced over 10,000 of the trainers when production ended in 1944. interruption. Employees instead would guide and supervise the work in hightech jobs that require human reasoning, troubleshooting and decision-making capabilities. Another benefit would be the elimination of work-related injuries. Robots eventually will be more adept at processing information and coming up with ready answers than humans, turning engineering into a more automated process, he said. “It will be a real interesting challenge for Boeing, as well as broader society,” said Tillotson, “to see what the role is for us when we have machines that are so very capable.” •
Frontiers July 2016 Issue
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