Despite high levels of optimism, many maritime professionals remain hesitant about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Their concerns are not just technical but emotional, rooted in fears of losing control, mistrust in vendors, or failed past experiences. This article explores the emotional blockers holding back wider adoption.
Thetius’ research conducted in partnership with Marcura shows that a fear of losing control and a loss of the human element in decision making can deter people from fully engaging in AI. 66% cited concerns with overreliance on the technology, leading to a reduction in human skills and oversight. A small percentage (20%) said that the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about AI being introduced in their workplace is a question about how it would affect their role.
Janani Yagnamurthy, VP Analytics at Marcura, explained why this might be the case: “Many operators fear losing control. They’ve spent decades honing their judgment in high-stakes roles like chartering and operations. So when AI is introduced, there’s a perception that machines are taking over, not assisting.”
In high-responsibility jobs such as charter managers, operations managers, or captains, the idea of an “autonomous system” making calls can feel like an existential threat to professional expertise. This fear often persists even when the AI is only providing recommendations rather than final decisions because emotionally it can feel like a slippery slope towards automation overriding human judgment.
While 82% of participants feel optimistic about AI in their workplace, some are still held back by the issue of trust. Our survey found that 37% of participants have witnessed instances where AI either caused harm or failed to deliver as promised. These failures are often attributed to the lack of human judgement in machine decision-making and poor implementation driven more by hype than practicality.
Discussions around trust in AI often centre on whether humans can trust AI. However, trust in AI is not a one-way consideration. These AI models depend heavily on the quality and reliability of human inputs to function, creating a bidirectional trust relationship.
As one ship manager explained, “People train their AI models but they don’t train their people. If the crew and the office do not understand the AI outputs, it could lead to misuse, which creates mistrust. We need to first train our people and our minds.”
Steven Jones, Founder of the Seafarers Happiness Index told us that he sees a significant disconnect between the development, deployment, and actual use of AI on ships, fuelling mistrust. “Salespeople sell a dream… and then time-stressed seafarers are left trying to unbox and make it work.”
Takeaway: Fear of losing control or human judgement can lead to emotional resistance, especially in shipping roles where expertise is deeply personal and hard earned.
For further insight into the areas highlighted in this article, download our thought leadership report, Beyond The Hype, created in partnership with Marcura.
