Science & Tech · AI · 50 mins ago
AI could design an aircraft next year, Istari CEO says
William Roper, head of Istari Digital, says AI agents could design an entire aircraft as early as next year.
His company works with the U.S. Air Force and firms including Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin.
Blue Origin has already used AI agents to handle the development of a lunar battery, from requirements and design through simulations and manufacturing.
People outside the AI system could audit each step and check whether it met safety, integration and business requirements.
Roper says following set procedures does not prove that an AI result is correct, so AI cannot be allowed to certify its own work.
He argues that engineers will increasingly supervise AI and build independent checks rather than do every design task themselves.
Those checks matter because a mistake in complex engineering could lead people to trust an unsafe or incorrect result.
Istari Digital CEO William Roper says artificial intelligence agents could design an entire aircraft as early as next year.
He says AI-generated work must be checked independently, because an AI system cannot certify its own results.
Roper cited Blue Origin’s use of AI agents to develop a lunar battery from requirements through design, simulations and manufacturing.
He said external audits helped Blue Origin assess whether the work met safety, integration and business requirements.
Roper said following procedures does not ensure AI’s results are correct, and engineers will increasingly shift from execution to supervision.
- Who
- William Roper, co-founder and CEO of Istari Digital.
- What
- Roper says AI agents could design an entire aircraft as early as next year, with independent checks needed to verify the result.
- When
- He said an aircraft could be designed by AI as early as next year. The interview took place October 6–8.
- Where
- The interview was conducted in Rome during the Global SOF European Symposium.
- Why
- Roper says independent verification is needed because AI can make mistakes and cannot certify its own work.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A system cannot be its own inspector.
even when it stays within the guardrails, AI can produce the wrong result
We are not giving up on engineers: we are assigning them a different job.
Roper co-founded Istari Digital to help companies design complex systems while retaining control of their data and intellectual property.
The Global SOF European Symposium was held in Rome, where Corriere della Sera interviewed Roper.
Corriere della Sera published its interview with Roper.
Roper said AI agents could design an entire aircraft.
- CEO
- William Roper
- Company founded
- Istari Digital, 2022
- Potential aircraft design
- As early as next year
- Example project
- Blue Origin lunar battery, developed from requirements through manufacturing
- Interview location
- Rome
- Interview event
- Global SOF European Symposium, October 6–8
Sources
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