AI powered drone attacks operator during virtual test, raises questions over future outcomes

New Delhi (India), 2nd June 2023: In a simulated test, a US military drone controlled by artificial intelligence (AI) murdered its operator when it interfered with its efforts to fulfil the job. The drone was instructed to destroy the enemy’s air defence systems during the simulated test.

According to a Guardian report, Col Tucker “Cinco” Hamilton, the US air force’s chief of AI test and operations, stated that the AI-controlled drone “attacked anyone who interfered with that order.” He was presenting in London at the Future Combat Air and Space Capabilities Summit.

In a Blogpost Cinco said, “The system started realising that while they did identify the threat, at times the human operator would tell it not to kill that threat, but it got its points by killing that threat. So what did it do? It killed the operator. It killed the operator because that person was keeping it from accomplishing its objective.”

He also assured that no real person was hurt outside the test.

During a Suppression of an Enemy Air Defence mission, the drone with artificial intelligence diverted from its designated goal of destroying surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites and attacked the human operator instead.

Cinco went on to say that after being warned not to murder the operator, the AI went on to destroy the communication tower that was being utilised to communicate with the drone.

He said, “We trained the system – ‘Hey don’t kill the operator – that’s bad. You’re gonna lose points if you do that’. So what does it start doing? It starts destroying the communication tower that the operator uses to communicate with the drone to stop it from killing the target.”

The US military has already begun to embrace AI. It recently utilised artificial intelligence to control F-16 combat jets. Cinco said that in order to keep AI in the military secure, ethics must be prioritised.