(DailyDig.com) – On May 3, Frank Kendall, the secretary of the US Air Force, participated in an artificial intelligence (AI)-controlled flight in an F-16 aircraft. The flight lasted one hour as it took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Kendall and another pilot, acting as backup, were the first to test the AI flight. He called it the most momentous advancement in aviation for the military since the stealth aircraft of the 1990s. They aim to develop a fleet of AI-piloted aircraft for use in wartime, with an expected operational date of 2028. According to Kendall, they anticipate significant technological advancements before completing their fleet.
The test location from the base in California occurred over the same desert, where the military broke the sound barrier in a famous test flight taken by pilot Chuck Yeager.
Kendall stated that with the world getting into AI, it would risk the security of the US if they did not work on the creation of an AI fleet of warplanes. He stated that the future of war in the skies will depend on drones autonomously directed by AI.
Vista, the name given to the aircraft that was used for the live testing of an AI-piloted flight, performed superfast maneuvers, twisting and looping, traveling 550 mph. At that speed, it would put a human under the same pressure that occurs five times what the body would endure under the force of gravity.
Throughout the test, the Vista managed to maintain pace with a human-piloted F-16. They raced 1,000 feet between them, twisting and looping to force their competitors to expose their vulnerability.
As Kendall exited the cockpit, he said that what he witnessed was enough for him to trust that the path they are taking with AI-powered warplanes is correct. He added that he would rely on AI to determine the justification for firing weapons in battle.
The Red Cross cautioned that making “life and death decisions” under the control of AI is worrisome. Kendall replied that oversight by humans will always be present.
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