Re: [FT] Unpredictable AI

On Wed, 20 June 2001, David Griffin wrote:

> Well, since we have computers that can fly planes
> and also random number generators, how come we still
> have fighter pilots?

If they USAF and the RAF have their way, we may not have by 2020.

That aside, the biggest problem with AIs in aircraft doesn't have to do
with combat. The biggest problem is designing an aircraft AI for
non-combat roles. Those require reasoning. Combat requires a different
kind of thinking. It's easier to design an aircraft AI to put the
vehicle in a superior position during a dog fight than it is to spot a
Cessna and then decide if it's a harmless civilian aircraft or a
potentially criminal drug trafficking aircraft.

That's another issue, too: visual sensors. It's very hard to match the
Mark I Eyball as an image capturing device. Assuming nothing is wrong
with a pilot, physically, he/she can easily read the registration number
on a civilian craft. This is a complex, and still error prone, process
for a machine. Tying in an AI to a radar and IFF suite is one thing.
Allowing them to "look out the window" is something else entirely, and
that is something you need in a pilot, particularly in peacetime.

Allan Goodall - agoodall@canada.com
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