Can AI-driven robots take over all cockpit seats? – An Opinion

As has been put by the acclaimed author of ‘Homo Deus’, : Yuval Noha Harrari – A brief History of Tommorow. 

‘AI is going to take over all skill based Specialist Jobs of Human Beings’.

• Does that mean that human beings are going to be redundant and the machines will take over in coming times?
• Will our lives in the future be as portrayed in Hollywood movies like ‘The Matrix’ or ‘Stealth’?

There are and will be numerous number of Conspiracy theorists stating the fact that ‘Machines will take over the world’.

Probably we saw the same paranoia when the first washing machine or a vacuum cleaner was manufactured, or worse, when robotics was born.

However, the reassuring fact is that we can never take out the Human Factor of Decision Making out of real life situations. A case in point is landing of Passenger Liner by Capt Sullenberg (Sully) into River Hudson. A case where all simulations stated that this was not possible.

Will AI reach the level of Human thinking, analysis, and application in times to come?

We are all waiting for that answer.

A probable smart future will be where humans will learn from AI and stay a step ahead in terms of application and analysis.

This is not exactly a view but a requirement for Humans to survive. This is a new paradigm of ‘Survival of the Fittest’ as put forward by Charles Darwin.

The ‘Alpha Dog Fight Challenge’ between an algorithm and a manned F-16 was won by the AI-driven computer with an overwhelming 5-0 score. The contest was flown simulating nose (literally line of sight) aimed and allowing gun kills.  Heron Systems is the company which has engineered the AI. 

To watch a frame by frame debrief of the combat CLICK HERE

The AI program (should we start calling him ‘pilot’ already?) Vs F-16 manned combat was in simulated training mission in a classic 1 Vs 1 Air Combat scenario. (one man (bot!) against another man with no ground sensor support)

• How will the AI-driven program react in a real mission?
• Will it be able to analyse and adapt?

Flying is not all about manoeuvre in 1 Vs 1 Gladiatorial Context. It is the sum total of the decision making in a complex mission environment.

In a real life Combat Mission, Human Factors come into play in a large number of situations. For example typically in a “Target Destruction Versus Collateral Damage” situation.

A Fighter Pilot in the cockpit will always have physical handicap in terms of Fighter Jet Manoeuvring compared to an Unmanned Fighter Jet. But value addition of Human Factor in terms of Observation, Analysis and reaction to unfamiliar situations shall far outweigh superiority of Machines in manoeuvring domain.

AI is here to stay and Humans will adapt.

It is a considered view that Unmanned Combat Aircraft will replace Manned Combat Aircraft for regular missions having a lesser number of unfamiliar situations, which shall require a lesser degree of application.

However, for specialized missions requiring a High Degree of application in an unknown environment, it shall still be a Manned Combat Aircraft.

Moral of the story is ‘Don’t sweat so soon! They still need you to fly that plane.’