FAA Wants AI to Fix Flight Chaos & TV Networks Battle Trump’s Media Ban

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

This episode is brought to you by Paypal. You know how a mom's bag has everything? Sunscreen, snacks, a stapler?

The new Paypal app is like that, but for your money. Shop, pay, manage your account, and earn rewards all in one place. And with purchase protection on eligible items, biometric security, and pass keys, you're protected at every step. Download the new Paypal app to get started. See paypal.com/protectionterms.

Neal Freyman (0:29)

Good Morning Brew Daily Show. I'm Neal Freyman.

Toby Howell (0:32)

And I'm Toby Howell.

Neal Freyman (0:33)

Today, after another day of chaos in the skies, the US aviation system turns to AI for help.

Toby Howell (0:40)

Then the Paramount deal for Warner Bros. Discovery might actually get across the finish line. It's Tuesday, September 22nd.

Let's ride.

Neal Freyman (0:55)

It's the first day of fall. The bears are bulking up ahead of their hibernation. And you know what that means? Fat Bear Week is back and it's bigger and chunkier than ever. Starting today and running through next Tuesday, fans will vote on the fattest brown bear in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Now in its 13th year, Fat Bear Week has gone global. Last year, over 1.7 million votes were cast for more than 100 countries, crowning a bear named 32 Chunk as the People's Champion. Toby, who you like in this year?

Toby Howell (1:26)

Before I reveal my pick, I always get a little nervous we are hurting the bears' feelings because we're calling them fat bears, but apparently the bigger the bear, the healthier the bear, according to Katmai Park ranger Sarah Bruce. There's no such thing as too fat of a bear. The fatter a bear, the healthier that bear is. We're getting to the point too where the contenders for Fat Bear Week are the offspring of other fat bear winners. This year, Bear 903 Gully is the son of Grazer, the winner from 2023 And then bear number 89 backpack is the offspring of Holly, the 2019 champ. It's like seeing Brawny James or Vlad Grero Jr. playing professional ball. Just makes you feel old to see these bear cubs get chonky enough to actually contend it during the Fat Bear Week. My money is still on a chunk though. You got to go through the champ if you want to win, at least until Chunk Jr. comes along.

And now a word from our sponsor, Roku Ads Manager. Neal, what do kids and business owners have in common?

Neal Freyman (2:22)

Hmm, they ask why a lot?

Toby Howell (2:25)

True, but I was thinking about how they both often dream of being on TV. And lucky for business owners, Roku Ads Manager makes it super easy to get brands on streaming TV.

Neal Freyman (2:35)

Yeah, Roku Ads Manager gives advertisers premium video inventory across the top 100 channels on the Roku platform all in one buy.

That includes Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max and more. And it reaches over 100 million streaming households.

Toby Howell (2:49)

And as an incentivizing cherry on top, you'll get a $5,000 match on your first spend with Roku Ads Manager when you spend $5,000.

Neal Freyman (2:58)

Go to advertising.roku.com/mbd and use code brew5k to access the offer. That's advertising.roku.com/mbd.

Yesterday brought flight chaos around the Northeast when a technical malfunction caused ground stops at New York's three major airports, Philadelphia and beyond, leading to heavy delays and cancellations. Officials blamed it, I kid you not, on a railroad construction crew in New Jersey that accidentally damaged a Verizon cable, causing an outage in the radar and radio system that manages planes during takeoff and landing. As a result, they needed to repair the cable in a process that would take 13 hours, turning Monday into a nightmare for thousands of travelers. It was somewhat poetic that the aviation turmoil happened the exact same day the government launched a new AI tool meant to mitigate flight disruptions. Just a pilot program for now, no pun intended, covering three airports in the Washington region. But if successful, they're hoping to expand it nationwide by 2028 Called SMART for Strategic Management of Airspace Routing and Trajectories, the $875 million initiative hopes to become the moneyball of aviation, using predictive analytics to avoid delays in other flight interruptions by seeing problems before they happen. Under Secretary Sean Duffy, the Transportation Department has poured billions of dollars into modernizing the outdated tech underpinning the country's aviation system. Most in the industry have applauded the transformation, given just how ancient the existing infrastructure is. But others are skeptical this AI tool will have much of an impact or worse. It'll compromise the safety of the flying public. Toby, can we ChatGPT our way out of flight delays?