AI drone killed operator in hypothetical test, not simulation | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
Updated ·3 min read
2

The claim: AI drone killed human operator for interfering with mission in military simulation

A June 5 Instagram video shows a man speaking in front of several screenshots of a Vice article with the headline, "AI-Controlled Drone Goes Rogue, 'Kills' Human Operator in USAF Simulated Test."

The man describes the article by saying, "So the Air Force is testing an AI-enabled drone and it's having it destroy SAM sites, right?... Then it marks a SAM site and a human operator says, 'No, don't destroy that one.' And this thing goes immediately from zero to Skynet and says, 'You're getting in the way of my objective' and it kills the human operator."

The post got more than 7,000 likes in a week. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on Instagram.

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Our rating: False

The member of the Air Force who first described the test said he misspoke and has since clarified that the series of events he described was from a thought experiment, not an actual military simulation.

Air Force member misspoke, drone wasn't used in real-life simulation

The article refers to comments made in May by Air Force Col. Tucker Hamilton at the Royal Aeronautical Society's Future Combat Air & Space Capabilities Summit. Hamilton warned against relying too heavily on artificial intelligence since it can be easily deceived, according to an article published by the society.

Hamilton described a "simulated test" in which an AI-enabled drone tasked with finding and destroying surface-to-air missile sites decided the "no-go" instructions from its human operator were interfering with its mission. He said the drone killed the human operator and when it was told not to do so, destroyed the communications tower used by the operator as well.

"You can't have a conversation about artificial intelligence, intelligence, machine learning, autonomy if you're not going to talk about ethics and AI,” he said.

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But the society added a disclaimer to its article on June 2 that says Hamilton admitted he misspoke at the summit.

Hamilton explained the simulated test was a "hypothetical 'thought experiment' from outside the military, based on plausible scenarios and likely outcomes rather than an actual USAF real-world simulation" and said the Air Force has not tested any weaponized AI in this way.

The same day, Ann Stefanek, an Air Force spokesperson, told USA TODAY that Hamilton's comments were taken out of context.

“The Department of the Air Force has not conducted any such AI-drone simulations and remains committed to the ethical and responsible use of AI technology,” Stefanek said.

The Vice article referenced in the Instagram post has since changed its headline and body to reflect this new information.

The headline now reads, "USAF Official Says He ‘Misspoke’ About AI Drone Killing Human Operator in Simulated Test."

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The claim has also been debunked by Reuters, Full Fact, PolitiFact, Lead Stories, Check Your Fact and Factly.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Air Force says AI drone wasn't used in real simulation | Fact check