AI-Based Tutoring System Invites America to Join the War

AI-Based Tutoring System Invites America to Join the WarThe US Air Force's AI-based tutor system, a system that can fly unmanned planes around the world, is generating a lot of media attention. It is being dubbed, for the obvious reason, as 'The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.' The media attention comes about as the United States military continues to advance its robotics programs and technology, and this project should be seen as yet another example of the US military advances and technologies that are improving everyday life for every American.The Air Force, using state of the art technology, has made available to the US taxpayer, what it calls, a super robot that can do virtually anything. Of course, I am sure that no one in the public is worried about the safety of the Air Force's robotic bird. They are, after all, focused on the more technologically sophisticated aspects of the system and have forgotten that our safety, and that of our planet, are perhaps far more important than the ab ility of the robot to perform its intended duties.In the Air Force's AI-based tutoring system, if we consider how well that particular system would perform in an emergency situation, we would not be impressed. It would be quite useful as a robotic 'gang-buster' system, bringing down air-to-air missile threats or manned aircraft in mid-flight with its powerful missiles. But, then again, we don't really want to see the Air Force is flying unmanned planes, do we?The system is designed to carry out autonomous operations. In other words, it will fly itself around the globe, gathering data and communications on human and drone behavior in a real-time fashion. One may ask, why would anyone need such a system? Isn't the United States already at war, so there are plenty of 'unmanned' warplanes and vehicles to spare?A spokesman for the Air Force, Lt. Col. Jeff Creighton, puts it simply: 'If we can think up a computer program that can be something more than a taxi service, then why can't we bu ild one that can carry out autonomous functions?' This type of thinking is nothing new and in fact was questioned before, and came up short. For one thing, it can't be a self-driving car, because those require human intervention. Also, it's nearly impossible to program a computer to run itself in a highly complicated environment like the Air Force project is expected to function in.We also know how easily our robotic vehicles are programmed to behave in combat scenarios, but this is not what the system is intended to do. Its primary goal is to improve efficiency and increase the accuracy of the commands given to it by the human operator, so that it can perform its task effectively, and in a timely manner.Other nations, and we have been through this scenario in Iraq, had even better ideas about using unmanned systems against insurgents, which are still pretty intelligent birds, but they didn't operate autonomously. The technology has advanced since those times, and it is widely thoug ht that you can program a robotic vehicle to function without human intervention, but that doesn't mean it is not subject to human influence.With our AI-based tutoring system, a US military robot that is able to perform autonomous functions will become a reality, and, at least in theory, so will our other combat vehicles. Our only problem will be to find a way to get along without driving all over each other.