In the meantime, how can passengers protect themselves against potentially erroneous information or “hallucinations” transmitted to them by AI? Should they verify everything a chatbot says? Experts say: yes and no.
“For passengers, the only lesson is that they can’t completely trust the information provided by airline chatbots. But it’s not really the passengers’ responsibility to know that,” says Marisa Garcia, an expert in the aviation industry and senior contributor to Forbes. “Airlines will need to further refine these tools [and] making them much more reliable if they want to alleviate the workload of human staff or, ultimately, replace human staff.
Garcia expects that over time, chatbots and their accuracy will improve, “but in the meantime, airlines will need to ensure they put their customers first and quickly make amends when their chatbots get it wrong,” she says – rather than letting the matter play out. in small claims court and a public relations disaster.
Travelers may want to consider the benefits of old-fashioned human assistance when planning their trip or navigating their fares. “AI has advanced rapidly, but the regulatory framework to guide the technology has not yet caught up,” said Erika Richter of the American Society of Travel Advisors. “Passengers need to be aware that when it comes to AI, the travel industry is building the plane as they fly it. We’re still a long way from chatbots replacing the level of customer service required – and expected – for the travel industry. “.
Globally, air passenger protections are not uniform, meaning different countries have different regulations and consumer protections. Lukacs notes that Canadian passenger regulations are particularly weak, while the UK, for example, inherited the Civil Aviation Authority and regulations from the 2004 European Council Directive.
“It’s important to understand that this isn’t just about airlines,” he said. Lukacs recommends that passengers who experience chatbot errors take their cases to small claims court. “They may not be perfect, but overall a passenger has a chance of getting a fair trial.”
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