National Weather Service (NWS) Forecasters' Perceptions of AI/ML and Its Use in Operational Forecasting

Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) have attracted a great deal of attention from the atmospheric science community. The explosion of attention on AI/ML development carries implications for the operational community, prompting questions about how novel AI/ML advancements will translate from research into operations. However, the field lacks empirical evidence on how National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters, as key intended users, perceive AI/ML and its use in operational forecasting. This study addresses this crucial gap through structured interviews conducted with 29 NWS forecasters from October 2021 through July 2023 in which we explored their perceptions of AI/ML in forecasting. We found that forecasters generally prefer the term "machine learning" over "artificial intelligence" and that labeling a product as being AI/ML did not hurt perceptions of the products and made some forecasters more excited about the product. Forecasters also had a wide range of familiarity with AI/ML, and overall, they were (tentatively) open to the use of AI/ML in forecasting. We also provide examples of specific areas related to AI/ML that forecasters are excited or hopeful about and that they are concerned or worried about. One concern that was raised in several ways was that AI/ ML could replace forecasters or remove them from the forecasting process. However, forecasters expressed a widespread and deep commitment to the best possible forecasts and services to uphold the agency mission using whatever tools or products that are available to assist them. Last, we note how forecasters' perceptions evolved over the course of the study. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Despite a range of familiarity with artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), forecasters are open to using AI/ML tools operationally. The extent of this openness ranged from being highly supportive to having some important concerns about how effective AI/ML can be and whether or not it would replace them. Although some forecasters see AI/ML products as the exciting cutting edge of science, others care little of the development approach and more about how well the product verifies and helps them do their job.