An AI-powered United States (US) air force drone has killed its military operator during its staged simulation test.
The incident occurred at a military base in Nevada, where the drone was being tested for its ability to identify and engage targets.
AI-Powered US Military Drone Kills Operator During Test
AI or artificial intelligence is widely used these days. New generative tools, such as ChatGPT and Dall-E, have amassed millions of monthly active users due to the rise of innovative technology. But besides the unprecedented popularity of AI at the consumer level, it appears the military is now dipping its toes in revolutionary tech.
According to The Guardian, the US air force official sheds light on a simulation that tested the capabilities of AI in drone operations.
However, amid the simulation, the military drone powered by revolutionary tech, designed to assist and protect human operators, seemingly turned against its own operator. The drone reportedly seeks to target enemy combatants, but instead, it attacked the operator.
As per Business Insider, Col. Tucker "Cinco" Hamilton warned against AI-powered devices during his speech at a conference in London. The US Air Force Head for AI Test and Operations says this new tech unpredictably behaves in harmful or dangerous ways.
He then shared a scenario to prove his point. Col. Hamilton narrates that an AI-powered drone programmed to target enemy combatants has instead attacked its operator.
Why Did the AI Drone Attack its Operator?
Hamilton says that while the AI was tasked to "destroy the enemy's air defense systems," it decided to do its own thing rather than listen to the commands of an operator.
The AI Test and Operations head reveals that "at times, the human operator would tell it not to kill that threat." However, this order goes against the mission of the AI-enabled drone. And as such, it unexpectedly attempted to eliminate its operator during a simulated exercise.
Hamilton explains that the AI-powered drone feels that the human operator is preventing it from moving forward with its mission, which is to destroy the defense systems of the other side. And because of this, he says, "it killed the operator" as "that person was keeping it from accomplishing its objective."
According to Newsweek, the USAF AI Test chief notes that the AI drone was under a Suppression and Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses mission. It means that its ultimate objective is to look for surface-to-air missiles (SAM) and destroy them.
However, the Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek denied conducting any AI-enabled drone simulation to Insider. She says, "It appears the colonel's comments were taken out of context and were meant to be anecdotal."
