US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall flew an experimental AI-powered F-16 fighter jet on a test flight at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
The AI-controlled F-16, the X-62A VISTA (Variable In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft), engaged in a dogfight with a human-controlled F-16.
The two jets flew inside 1,000 feet of one another at speeds of greater than 550 miles per hour, performing complex high-speed maneuvers and attempting to force the enemy into vulnerable positions.
Minister Kendall, who experienced the AI-controlled jet first-hand in the course of the hour-long flight, expressed the inevitability of AI weapons: “It's a security risk to not have them. At this point now we have to have them.”
At the top of the flight, Minister Kendall stated that he had seen enough to trust the AI on the battlefield.
This follows a recent test of the identical aircraft in a live dogfight situation.
Concern about AI weapons is growing
No wonder, since the prospect of AI firing weapons autonomously without human intervention is incredibly controversial.
Last International conferenceUnder the motto “Humanity at a crossroads: Autonomous weapon systems and the challenge of regulation,” participants from 143 countries debated in Vienna the urgent need to control using AI in autonomous weapon systems (AWS).
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg warned that the world was facing an “Oppenheimer moment,” referring to the event of the primary atomic bomb.
He stressed: “Let us at the very least be certain that essentially the most profound and far-reaching decision – who lives and who dies – stays within the hands of individuals, not machines.”
Others have asked Who could be liable for that? if the AI weapons go flawed. The manufacturer? The one who commands the operation? Or someone further down the road pushing buttons and monitoring devices?
AI shouldn’t be only being built into weapons but can also be getting used to develop battlefield strategies. However, a recent study found that language models can escalate war games toward nuclear war.
Autonomous drones are already getting used by each side within the war in Ukraine, while Israeli forces are reportedly using artificial intelligence to discover human targets within the war in Gaza.
Despite these concerns, the US The Air Force has ambitious plans for an AI-enabled fleet consisting of greater than 1,000 unmanned combat aircraft operational by 2028.
Vista claims that no other country has such an AI jet, citing mainly China's lack of such weapons so far as Western sources can tell.
While China has AI technology that’s broadly comparable to that USThere is not any indication that such field tests are being carried out.
As the US As the Air Force continues to push the boundaries of AI-powered aviation, the international community grapples with what this might mean for contemporary warfare.
It's uncertain territory treaded only by science fiction storylines, most of which don't end well for anyone.
