In the latest sign of these AI-heavy times, the National Transportation Safety Board temporarily removed access to its docket system after discovering that voices of pilots who were killed in a UPS plane crash last year had been re-created using AI and were circulating on the internet.
Federal regulations prevent the NTSB from including cockpit audio recordings in its public docket system, which normally contains extensive investigation data. However, the accident report for this flight had a spectrogram file related to the voice recorder. This spectrogram visually represents sound frequencies through a mathematical transformation.
Scott Manley, a well-known YouTuber who merges physics, astronomy, and gaming content, pointed out on X that it might be possible to extract audio from the substantial data contained within that image.
That extraction indeed took place. Individuals utilized the spectrogram along with the available transcript to form approximations of the cockpit voice recordings from UPS Flight 2976, which occurred in Louisville, Kentucky, as reported by the NTSB. They employed AI technologies like Codex, as indicated in social media discussions.
The NTSB reopened public access to the docket system on Friday, yet retained 42 investigations in a closed state pending further review, including the one concerning Flight 2976.
Understanding this incident is crucial as it highlights the ethical and legal complexities surrounding AI technology’s ability to manipulate sensitive data. As AI continues to evolve, it raises questions about privacy, the integrity of investigative processes, and how the public engages with tragic events.
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