While the monumental fail of Friday's nationwide air traffic grounding is still impacting travelers, we're awaiting a more coherent explainer of the causes than the differeing ones offered simultaneously by former reality tv personality (the other one) and Congresscritter Sean Duffy, who ostensibly is the "Secretary of Transportation," and former plumber/ Senator Markwayne Mullin, ostensibly Secretary of Homeland Security. (Let that sink in for a moment, please.)
Until more evidence can be gathered and verified, the working explanation is that one of the contractors working on "upgrading" the existing air traffic control system, attempting to marry an AI digital upgrade to an existing analog system. We're not tech experts by any means, but to us that sounds a bit like pouring gasoline onto a solar array and firing it up.
Christopher Bates offers us three helpful questions that should be asked as we try to find out what happened and why:
Did the DOGE cuts play any role in laying the groundwork for this mess?
Did reliance on poorly tested AI products, perhaps acquired thanks to a no-bid sweetheart contract, play any role here?
Why is the Trump administration able to find money for the President's vanity projects, but not for something like the air traffic control infrastructure?
Basically, a variation of some or all of those questions could be asked of any screw-up or maladministration by this regime (senseless cuts / corrupt insider deal / allocation of resources). Another (rhetorical) question: why is the Malignant Fascist AWOL during this national crisis? Of course, this is the governance you get at the intersection of ignorance, greed, and incompetence.
(Photo: Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Saturday / Mike Stocker, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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