Missy Cummings

Missy Cummings is a leading academic, engineering expert, and former U.S. Navy fighter pilot renowned for her work at the intersection of human–machine interaction, autonomous systems, and responsible artificial intelligence. She currently serves as a professor in the College of Engineering and Computing at George Mason University and directs the Mason Autonomy and Robotics Center, where her research focuses on human supervision of autonomous systems, ethical AI design, safety in automated technologies, and the socio‑ethical implications of emerging technology in safety‑critical domains.

Cummings began her career as a U.S. Navy officer and military pilot from 1988 to 1999, becoming one of the Navy’s first female fighter pilots and flying advanced aircraft such as the F/A‑18 Hornet. Her experiences in high‑pressure operational environments shaped her lifelong interest in how humans and machines interact and make decisions under stress.

An expert in systems engineering, Cummings holds a B.S. in mathematics from the United States Naval Academy, an M.S. in space systems engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a Ph.D. in systems engineering from the University of Virginia.

Her research and policy contributions extend beyond academia: she has served as the senior safety advisor at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, where she brought her expertise to federal AI and autonomous vehicle policy, and continues to advise global initiatives on responsible AI, including as a commissioner for the Global Commission on Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain.

Cummings is widely published in both technical and policy forums, with work addressing AI hazard analysis, human supervisory control, and the challenges of integrating autonomous technologies in transportation, aviation, and defense. She frequently speaks to industry and government audiences about the limits of machine learning, the importance of human‑centered system design, and the ethical deployment of autonomous systems.

Her trajectory—from breaking barriers in military aviation to shaping the future of autonomous technology—makes her a leading voice in conversations about safety, ethics, and the responsible integration of AI into complex human systems.