In this insight, we explore the human dimension of AI adoption in maritime operations, focusing on awareness, accountability, and the cognitive factors that shape how people interact with intelligent systems.
According to Dr Joanna Michalska, human awareness is critical in shaping our relationship with AI. Rather than starting from what AI can do technologically, she urges us to begin by understanding ourselves, including our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours.
Michalska defines awareness in three dimensions. Self-awareness involves recognising our own thoughts, emotions, motivations, and biases and how these influence our use of AI. Social awareness means understanding others’ perspectives and the broader societal implications of AI, including fairness and impact on relationships. Organisational awareness focuses on how systems, cultures, and power structures shape behaviour and decision-making, ensuring AI adoption aligns with values, governance, and ethics rather than efficiency alone.
It is important not to lose perspective when adopting new technologies like AI. The excitement surrounding innovation can easily overshadow the human element that underpins effective decision-making.
The key aims of our research with StormGeo are to define how AI and human expertise each contribute to voyage optimisation, examine why achieving the right human-AI balance is difficult in today’s maritime environment, explain the safety, operational, and commercial value of getting this balance right, and provide a clear framework for implementing AI in a way that strengthens rather than replaces human decision-making.
Maritime professionals face a complex set of challenges when integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into an industry long defined by human judgment, experience, and trust. While optimism is high, over 80% of professionals believe AI can improve efficiency in maritime operations, adoption remains shallow and cautious. The core difficulty lies not in technology itself, but in aligning human and machine decision-making within the safety-critical and globally regulated shipping industry. But when the two can be aligned, operational intelligence is achieved.
AI systems demonstrate proficiency in tasks requiring rapid data processing, pattern recognition, and performance on well-structured problems. However, humans outperform AI in creativity, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and learning from limited or ambiguous information. Balancing AI with human intelligence involves leveraging the unique strengths of both to achieve optimal outcomes in complex tasks and decision-making.
Operational intelligence requires balancing the two to achieve clearly defined workflows where human insight and judgement complement AI’s computational analysis. Operational intelligence should help move decision-making from slow inconsistent reactions to informed and real-time responsiveness with higher confidence.
To explore how a balanced human-AI approach can strengthen voyage optimisation in safety-critical conditions, read the full Thought Leadership report ‘Co-Pilots of the Sea: Exploring the Human Intelligence Behind Maritime AI’ produced in partnership with StormGeo.
