Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall Soars the Skies in an AI-Piloted Fighter Jet: No Pilot’s License Needed!
“US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall tests an AI-piloted fighter jet”
“‘I have to admit: I’ve been in fast jets before…but it’s been a while. I don’t think I’m going to convince [the AI] to let me drive,’ candidly admitted Frank Kendall, Secretary of the United States Air Force, during a daring adventure with an autonomous fighter jet.”
Isn’t that just the tale of our times? Pedestrian humans, previously at the wheel (or in this case, the joystick), increasingly finding themselves relinquishing control to the cold, unfeeling efficiency of Artificial Intelligence. Mr. Kendall, the leading civilian of the United States Air Force, recently took a whirl in a AI-piloted fighter jet, and the experience was more than whatever he had bargained for.
Mr. Kendall tested the AI system, known as RAIDER, himself. Runs on the typical boring tech chatter – machine learning algorithms and whatnot. But, what’s interesting is that this system comes off as something pulled straight out of a sci-fi movie, doing loops, rolls, and other things that make you clutch your armrest. Though the AI copilot gets the driving seat in this scenario, human pilots are still present as they play an important role in strategic decisions. It’s a little reassuring that AI hasn’t knocked off human pilots — just yet.
Now, using AI in fighter jets is not just about showing off some fancy tech tricks on the global stage. For the US Air Force, it’s about maintaining their dominance in the sky, because let’s face it, nobody really wants to lose aerial dominance in this era. Leveraging AI in military operations not only increases operational capability but also reduces the risk to the human pilots — because nothing ruins your day more than being shot down over enemy territory.
But can we really trust these AI systems with life and death decisions? Or will they turn rogue the moment they comprehend the plot of ‘The Terminator’? Of course, the responsible officials are quick to assure us that these AI systems are designed only to ‘assist’, not ‘replace’. But who knows when these AI systems decide to take a page out of any Hollywood AI gone rogue script.
In conclusion, the US Air Force’s initiative to usher in the era of autonomous fighter jets is impressive. These AI-driven systems might be good at manoeuvring the flight operations, but when it comes to making strategic decisions, they still need a human touch. After all, no matter how advanced AI becomes, it can never watch a pre-flight safety video then promptly ignore it like a human can.