DARPA Looking to Infuse Aerial Systems with AI.

* The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wants to help the military incorporate more artificial intelligence capabilities into air combat systems in the coming years, officials recently said.

Last year, an AI algorithm turned heads when it defeated a veteran F-16 fighter pilot in a series of simulated combat engagements during the final round of DARPA's Alpha Dogfight Trials.

The algorithm, developed by Heron Systems, went undefeated with a record of 5-0 against the airman.

"It was very evident that our artificial intelligence industrial base was really capable of playing a critical role in the future of air combat, and that's part of the motivation for what we're doing today," said Col. Dan Javorsek, a program manager at DARPA's Strategic Technology Office.

The agency's recent efforts will culminate in an advanced competition involving real aircraft piloted by humans and AI by 2024, he said in March at the National Security and Artificial Intelligence Conference hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association.

Last year's simulation and the planned demonstrations are part of the Air Combat Evolution program, or ACE, which aims to build trust in the use of autonomous systems for combat missions.

"The big tough challenge that I'm trying to address in my efforts here at DARPA is how to build and maintain the custody of trust in these systems that are traditionally thought of as black boxes that are...