NTSB Automation Studies
Overview
The National Transportation Safety Board has produced multiple reports examining how automation affects human performance in aviation, automotive, and rail transportation. These provide empirical evidence on human-automation interaction failures.
Key Findings
Automation Complacency: Operators over-rely on automated systems, failing to monitor appropriately Mode Confusion: Operators lose track of what the automation is doing or why Skill Degradation: Manual skills atrophy when automation handles routine operations Handoff Failures: Transitions between automated and manual control are high-risk moments
Relevance to AI
Transportation automation findings generalize to AI systems:
- Same patterns of over-reliance appear with AI recommendations
- Mode confusion occurs when users don’t understand AI confidence levels
- Skill atrophy is concern for AI-augmented knowledge work
- Graceful degradation critical when AI fails
Related: 01-atom—human-in-the-loop, 07-molecule—ui-as-ultimate-guardrail