At 38,000 feet over the North Atlantic, two pilots sit in silence, with only the hum of the engines to be heard. The sky is clear, and tones of orange and pink paint it as the sun rises on the horizon. Inside the cockpit, the glow of the display reflects off polished instrument panels and tired eyes. It's a routine cruise … on the surface at least.

Then a chime cuts through the silence, accompanied by a message that appears on the Flight Management Computer. An indicator illuminates. It's not dramatic; no alarms, no flashing lights. Just enough to shift the pilots' atmosphere from calm to focused.

This is modern airline flying. And it's here, rather than in the Hollywood-style emergencies, that the need for two-pilot flying becomes most apparent.

Artificial intelligence has existed for nigh on 70 years. From Alan Turing's first proposals of machine intelligence, its influence has reached perhaps every industry in some manner today.

But what if it assumed the role of one of the most highly trained professions in the world?

How Crews Fly

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