SMART developed by ASI and the FAA is pushing to own a portion of the company:

"The FAA in June awarded Boston-based startup Air Space Intelligence a contract — worth up to $875.9 million — for an AI-powered tool to help air traffic controllers manage the nation’s skies and a related system for an FAA nerve center in northern Virginia to better handle plane congestion. The AI platform’s initial launch in the Washington area has sparked concern among Democrats in Congress who say it should be put on pause until they have a better understanding of how it’s being deployed."

"Over two dozen lawmakers have called on the FAA to pause its 90-day evaluation period for the platform, which began late last month in the Washington region. They say there’s been an “egregious lack of transparency.”"

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/15/faa-stake-ai-compan...

Feels like somebody was pushing their preferred company for a government contract and now is push for the government to invest.

NYT: "In a social media post on Friday, the company [ASI] said, 'The current ground stop is not based on or a result of the SMART system, any product of ASI or our integration with FAA and ATC.'"

Wait, the FAA wants to own a portion of the company? As in, the government believes it had the authority to own the means of production?

Is this more common than I realize in US executive deparyments and agencies?

The whole setup is worrisome.

It would be super awesome if I could hop on an airplane without getting my insides x-rayed, my belongings sorted through or damaged, worrying about the windows falling off or the plane's systems flying itself into a crash, or some tech bros' bid to be a billionaire telling what an understaffed ATC controller what to do.