Why AI Is an Air Force Pilot's New Best Friend

The Air Force wants more extremely advanced unmanned drone fighter jets capable of high-speed aerial maneuvers, winning dogfights, and performing most if not all of the major missions performed by human pilots. At the same time, despite the rapid growth and promise of AI and computerized dog fighting prowess, human pilots are not likely to go anywhere anytime soon. "We are so multifaceted as human beings, yet machines will be specialists in certain areas," Air Force Chief Scientist Victoria Coleman told The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. "How do we have humans and machines operate together to get better outcomes? Experimentation is already taking place. The way to deploy more of these teams is through more and more experimentation. If we test a little, we can feel comfortable going to war," Coleman said.