Reddit user explores why AI can't yet search satellite imagery for missing aircraft like MH370

A Reddit user on r/ClaudeAI reported testing Claude AI's capability to search for missing aircraft by scanning satellite and sonar imagery. The user specifically asked Claude to help locate MH370 and Amelia Earhart's plane.

What Claude can't do

Claude was honest about its limitations: it isn't connected to satellite or sonar databases and doesn't have computer vision tools to scan imagery at scale.

The existing technology pieces

The user identified that all necessary components already exist separately:

• NASA, ESA, and private companies have petabytes of satellite imagery
• Computer vision AI can detect objects and anomalies in aerial images
• Ocean Infinity uses AI-guided autonomous underwater vehicles in real searches
• The US military uses AI to scan satellite imagery at massive scale

The missing piece

What doesn't exist yet is a unified, accessible platform that connects all these components for researchers, scientists, and the public.

Potential applications

If such a platform existed, it could potentially help find:

• MH370 (still missing after 12 years)
• Amelia Earhart's aircraft
• Shipwrecks and archaeological sites
• Provide real-time search and rescue support

Claude estimated this capability is probably 2-4 years away for public use, which the user found both exciting and frustrating since the underlying technology largely exists today.

The user posted this to signal demand for such a tool and asked if anyone knows of startups or researchers working on this problem.