An AI pilot just thoroughly beat a human in an F-16 dogfight
An AI pilot has defeated a US Air Force pilot in a virtual F-16 dogfight in a “coming of age” moment for artificial intelligence.
The US military’s AlphaDogfight Trials was organised by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) – a secretive branch of the US Department of Defense responsible for the development of futuristic technologies.
It sought to demonstrate the “feasibility of developing effective, intelligent autonomous agents capable of defeating adversary aircraft in a dogfight.”
Download the new Independent Premium app
Sharing the full story, not just the headlines
The winning AI pilot, developed by Heron Systems, defeated other AI adversaries before going on to beat a human pilot wearing a VR helmet by a score of 5 – 0 in the final.
“We’ve gotten an opportunity to watch AI come of age [against] a very credible adversary in the human pilot,” said Col. Dan Javorsek, program manager in Darpa’s Strategic Technology Office.
“The AlphaDogfight Trials is all about increasing trust in AI. If the champion AI earns the respect of an F-16 pilot, we’ll have come one step closer to achieving effective human-machine teaming in air combat.”
The human pilot, who went by the name ‘Banger’, said that he was unable to match twisting techniques adopted by the AI pilot that he had not witnessed in human-to-human air combat.
“Standard things we do as fighter pilots are not working,” he said during a live broadcast.
Gadget and tech news: In pictures
Show all 25
Gadget and tech news: In pictures
1/25 Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space
Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia’s deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy.
Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter
2/25 Google turns 21
Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at California’s Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term ‘googol’, meaning 10 raised to the power of 100
3/25 Hexa drone lifts off
Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company’s “Hexa” personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019
4/25 Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One
Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020
5/25 First new iPod in four years
Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB
6/25 Folding phone may flop
Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash
7/25 Charging mat non-starter
Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once
AFP/Getty
8/25 “Super league” India shoots down satellite
India has claimed status as part of a “super league” of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology
5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s
10/25 Uber halts driverless testing after death
Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018
A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore
A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore
Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
14/25
Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
15/25
The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie ‘Avatar’ and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
16/25
Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
17/25
Waseda University’s saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi
Waseda University’s saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session
A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China
A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China
A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China
A man looks at an exhibit entitled ‘Mimus’ a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London
A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv
1/25 Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space
Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia’s deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy.
Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter
2/25 Google turns 21
Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at California’s Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term ‘googol’, meaning 10 raised to the power of 100
3/25 Hexa drone lifts off
Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company’s “Hexa” personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019
4/25 Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One
Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020
5/25 First new iPod in four years
Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB
6/25 Folding phone may flop
Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash
7/25 Charging mat non-starter
Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once
AFP/Getty
8/25 “Super league” India shoots down satellite
India has claimed status as part of a “super league” of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology
5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s
10/25 Uber halts driverless testing after death
Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018
A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore
A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore
Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
14/25
Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
15/25
The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie ‘Avatar’ and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
16/25
Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
17/25
Waseda University’s saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi
Waseda University’s saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session
A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China
A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China
A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China
A man looks at an exhibit entitled ‘Mimus’ a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London
A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv
AI pilots have a significant advantage over human pilots, as they are not affected by the extreme G forces that occur when manoeuvring at high speeds.
They are also able to aim and fire to a superhuman level, though until now artificial intelligence has lacked the tactical thinking that humans are capable of.
The AI system was developed through deep reinforcement learning in order to overcome this and defeat the human pilot.
Darpa said the AlphaDogfight Trials is a precursor to its ACE program, which ultimately aims to use AI algorithms to fly real aircraft.