- Aug 6, 2012
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This is the future of warfare, my favourite Machine Learning method, "Reinforcement Learning". It will be applied in a variety of ways from strategy to simulations, assisting and, direct combat. Of this, I am certain, it is only a matter of time.
Not only did it learn over time, but, let's consider another MAJOR benefit A.I has, something which is constantly underscored when it is really a vital aspect of it's learning and perfection: practice. From the article:
"Initially, the AI agent is simply learning not to fly its aircraft into the ground. But after 4 billion iterations, Heron seems to have mastered the art of executing energy-efficient air combat maneuvers."
That's 4 Billion runs in the flight simulator from scratch. Beginning at just learning to prevent from crashing to learning that it is rewarded for shooting down target pilots. Once it learns what the reward is, it focuses on perfectly that singular goal, like a Terminator would. It's allowed the most beautiful and unbeatable chess to be played by Alpha Zero when it began with no knowledge of the game, to the same concepts being applied in the military.
This, alone is impossible to overcome in humans. These are simulations at top speeds.
Opinion | Machine beats man in aerial dogfight between AI and fighter pilot. Should we be scared?
From the outside, the simulated aerial dogfight the Pentagon held two weeks ago looked like a standard demonstration of close-up air-to-air combat as two F-16 fighter jets barreled through the sky, twisting and diving as they sought an advantage over the other. Time and time again the jets would “merge,” with one or both pilots having just split seconds to pull off an accurate shot. After one of the jets found itself riddled with cannon shells five times in these confrontations, the simulation ended.
From the inside, things seemed very, very different.
“The standard things we’re trained to do as a fighter pilot aren’t working,” lamented the losing pilot, an Air Force fighter pilot instructor with the call sign Banger.
That’s because this wasn’t a typical simulation at all. Instead, the U.S. military’s emerging-technologies research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, had staged a matchup between man and machine — and the machine won 5-0.
Not only did it learn over time, but, let's consider another MAJOR benefit A.I has, something which is constantly underscored when it is really a vital aspect of it's learning and perfection: practice. From the article:
"Initially, the AI agent is simply learning not to fly its aircraft into the ground. But after 4 billion iterations, Heron seems to have mastered the art of executing energy-efficient air combat maneuvers."
That's 4 Billion runs in the flight simulator from scratch. Beginning at just learning to prevent from crashing to learning that it is rewarded for shooting down target pilots. Once it learns what the reward is, it focuses on perfectly that singular goal, like a Terminator would. It's allowed the most beautiful and unbeatable chess to be played by Alpha Zero when it began with no knowledge of the game, to the same concepts being applied in the military.
This, alone is impossible to overcome in humans. These are simulations at top speeds.
Opinion | Machine beats man in aerial dogfight between AI and fighter pilot. Should we be scared?
From the outside, the simulated aerial dogfight the Pentagon held two weeks ago looked like a standard demonstration of close-up air-to-air combat as two F-16 fighter jets barreled through the sky, twisting and diving as they sought an advantage over the other. Time and time again the jets would “merge,” with one or both pilots having just split seconds to pull off an accurate shot. After one of the jets found itself riddled with cannon shells five times in these confrontations, the simulation ended.
From the inside, things seemed very, very different.
“The standard things we’re trained to do as a fighter pilot aren’t working,” lamented the losing pilot, an Air Force fighter pilot instructor with the call sign Banger.
That’s because this wasn’t a typical simulation at all. Instead, the U.S. military’s emerging-technologies research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, had staged a matchup between man and machine — and the machine won 5-0.
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