Very cool stuff they're doing now..

There's a new maverick in the fighter jet hanger: an algorithm. DARPA's AlphaDogfight Trials, an algorithmic piloting competition, came to a close last month with the winning algorithm routing a human F-16 fighter pilot in five out of five virtual reality dogfights. The winning organization, Heron Systems, first had to beat challenging fighter pilot algorithms created by the likes of military contractor Lockheed Martin. This came with a litany of challenges. First, there was the matter of outclassing the A.I. competition in combat. Then there were the collision detectors needed to stop the A.I. from crashing into landmarks. Which would be far easier if Heron's AI pilot weren't so aggressive. "Banger," a crack pilot and human, was the challenger in the final bout. Instantly, he was overwhelmed by the Heron A.I.'s relentless assault, "superman" aiming, tolerance of G force, and generally unorthodox stratagem. Banger was routed in the first four rounds, but managed to develop a feasible strategy in the fifth, which he nevertheless lost. If that gets your hopes up for humanity, think again: all AI in the competition were barred from being upgraded after each round. So if Heron's AI had been allowed to learn and develop as it battled, it's likely Banger would've never had a chance. The victory by artificial intelligence marks a watershed moment we've been expecting for some time now. It's safe to say that nearly all aircraft, along with our cars, could end up unmanned within a generation or two. All serious fears of AI aside, I just hope these AI pilots take it easy with the Gs when I'm on airliners. At least we won't have to worry about the A.I. pilots having one too many at the airport bar!

More about this Curio:
Engadget: "Heron Systems' AI pilot just beat a human in a simulated dogfight"
Fortune: "An F-16 pilot took on A.I. in a dogfight. Here’s who won"
Futurism: "AI Fighter Jet Obliterates Human Air Force Pilot in Simulated Dogfight"
Business Insider: "A US Air Force F-16 pilot is going to take on an AI adversary in a simulated dogfight, and you can watch it live"