My Wingman is an AI

摘要

The U.S. Air Force is not lacking for colorful call signs-just ask the pilots known as Ratdog, Nails, and Squidbait, to name a few. Soon pilots may have a wingman with an equally memorable name: Skyborg, an autonomous AI under development at the Air Force Research Lab. At a press conference in Washington, D.C., this past March, Will Roper, the Air Force's assistant secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics, likened Skyborg to Star Wars' R2-D2-Luke Skywalker's robotic sidekick on his X-Wing fighter. The goal, Roper emphasized, is not to replace pilots, but to provide critical support that will enhance their warfighting capabilities: "We're going to ask them to do even more, which is not just to fly a wicked fast, lethal plane. We're going to ask them to fly that plane and then quarterback a team of planes with them. I think it's going to make being a pilot more exciting."