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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for nutherguy:

An AI just embarrassed the US Air Force in a virtual dogfight:

We've already seen AI conquer masters of chess, Go, and StarCraft II. But could it defeat an Air Force pilot in a (virtual) dogfight?

[...] Heron [AI] quickly built up a 4-0 lead. Gunned down four times but somehow still alive, Banger [human] had no choice but to change up his gameplan.

"The standard things that we do as fighter pilots are not working, so for this last one, I'll try to change it up a little bit just to see if we can do something different," he said.

"That initial turn is where I lose a lot of life... I've just gotta look for opportunities to minimize that distance separation away from the adversary, try to get him back in so I press inside or stay outside his nose area."

Banger pulled up to 9Gs — nine times the force of gravity — and hit speeds over 500mph. He then dropped the jet down to 13,000 feet, trying to drag Heron close to the ground. The plan seemed to be working. Heron couldn't get its gun low enough to shoot.

But within a few seconds, the AI was back on Banger's tail. Lead commentator Chris "Disco" Demay called the action:

Just inside of 3,000 feet... Looks like Heron's saddling up — and with the kill.

Original Submission