Reports of an AI drone that 'killed' its operator are pure fiction

In a story that could be ripped from a sci-fi thriller, the hyper-motivated AI had been trained to destroy surface-to-air missiles only with approval from a human overseer – and when denied approval, it turned on its handler. Only, it is no surprise that story sounds fictional – because it is. The story emerged from a report by the Royal Aeronautical Society, describing a presentation by US Air Force (USAF) colonel Tucker Hamilton at a recent conference. That report noted the incident was only a simulation, in which there was no real drone and no real risk to any human – a fact missed by many attention-grabbing headlines. Later, it emerged that even the simulation hadn't taken place, with the USAF issuing a denial and the original report updated to clarify that Hamilton "mis-spoke". The apocalyptic scenario was nothing but a hypothetical thought experiment.