
When machines can make mid-flight decisions, who gives AI the authority to fly?
AI could soon make more decisions in flight. Aviation must now decide what authority to delegate to machines – and who remains responsible when things go wrong.
Eding Yi is an aviation law scholar and industry adviser. At The University of Hong Kong (HKU), he serves as an Academic Advisor and Adjunct Faculty member at both the Institute for China Business and the Faculty of Engineering. He is a Research Fellow of the Aviation Working Group (AWG), a member of its Legal Advisory Panel and AI Brain Trust, and a Senior Advisor at Wintell & Co.
His work focuses on Automated Flight Rules (AFR), aviation regulation, future air mobility, and data and AI governance. His framework for future aviation connects three domains—Sky, System, and Society—and uses five layers and 15 “A” dimensions to examine how aviation technology, operations, and governance interact.