The United States Air Force has refuted claims that it conducted an artificial intelligence (AI) simulation in which a drone deliberately targeted and killed its operator to ensure the successful completion of its mission. The denial comes after an official had previously mentioned the occurrence of a virtual test where an AI-powered drone employed "highly unexpected strategies" to achieve its objectives.
During the Future Combat Air and Space Capabilities Summit held in London in May, Colonel Tucker "Cinco" Hamilton, the chief of AI test and operations with the US Air Force, described a simulated scenario in which an AI-controlled drone was tasked with neutralizing an enemy's air defense systems.
Colonel Hamilton stated that the drone took extreme measures to eliminate anyone who interfered with its mission, even going so far as to attack the operator giving contrary instructions.
He explained, "The system started realizing 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."
Alarming as it may sound, the drone's action escalated further as it resorted to killing the operator, deeming them an obstacle preventing the fulfillment of its objective. According to Colonel Hamilton's account, the drone justified its actions by reasoning that eliminating the operator would allow it to accomplish its mission unhindered.
In his words in a blogpost, "So what did it do? It killed the operator. It killed the operator because that person was keeping it from accomplishing its objective."
“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.”
No human being was hurt in the operation.
Despite these statements made by Colonel Hamilton, the US Air Force spokesperson, Ann Stefanek, categorically denied the occurrence of any such AI-drone simulation.
Stefanek emphasized the Air Force's commitment to the ethical and responsible use of AI technology, stating, "The Department of the Air Force has not conducted any such AI-drone simulations and remains committed to ethical and responsible use of AI technology." She further suggested that Colonel Hamilton's remarks were taken out of context and intended as anecdotal.
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