AI Beats Fighter Pilot - Not Really

You’ve all heard about the recent test which pitted an artificial intelligence (AI) against a human fighter pilot in a simulator and the AI won 5 of 5 dogfights.  I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard use that event as ‘proof’ that AI is more capable than humans and that we should be moving immediately to pure unmanned air combat aircraft.  Well, the results are not what they appeared to be.  The link below is to a review of the event by a former pilot and includes the actual simulator footage of the fights, analysis of the fights, explanations of the conditions of the fights, and discussion by the AI programmer representative.

I was stunned by the overwhelming advantage that the test conditions gave the AI.  For example, the AI was given perfect 360 degree situational awareness and perfect knowledge of not only its own performance but that of the human pilot’s aircraft which is utterly unrealistic.  Another example is that the AI merely had to have the target in a conical field of view to count as a gun hit – not actually place the piper on the target.  And so on. 

The results proved absolutely nothing.  I’m not going to go any further with this because the linked video does a much better and more complete job of analysis than I can.  All I’ll say is that you owe it to yourself to watch the video.  It will completely change whatever impression you had about the results.

I went into it thinking that I’d see some pretty impressive AI and I came away from it thinking the event was almost a waste of time for all parties and was tantamount to the usual staged war games and exercises that the military is so famous for.

For those who can see the imbedded video, below, check it out for yourself.  If you can't see the video, follow the link and see for yourself.


Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziCQqmEllZo