The clever way Google is using AI to make flying greener

Google’s work using AI to reduce contrails is a winner in Fast Company’s 2024 World Changing Ideas Awards.

The thin clouds that streak behind airplanes, called contrails, are a sizable source of global warming, responsible for more than a third of aviation’s climate impact. But slightly changing a plane’s flight path can help avoid the phenomenon, which happens when hot exhaust mixes with cold, humid air.