DARPA, U.S. Air Force fly AI-controlled F-16
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DARPA and the Air Force flew an AI-controlled F-16 under the VENOM program.
The U.S. Air Force and DARPA flew an AI-controlled F-16 under the Viper Experimentation and Next-generation Operations Model (VENOM) program. The aircraft uses a VENOM Autonomy Kit (VAK) that interfaces with flight controls, allowing a pilot to toggle between human and AI control. The effort builds on prior ACE program flights with the X-62A VISTA. VENOM aircraft will support DARPA's Artificial Intelligence Reinforcements (AIR) program to test multiple AI agents in live-flight scenarios, paving the way for human pilots to command teams of autonomous uncrewed aircraft.
What commenters are saying
The top comment jokingly quotes the Skynet timeline from Terminator 2, drawing a parallel to the AI-controlled fighter. Many commenters riff on this theme, extending the analogy to modern concerns: corporate lobbying, cryptocurrency, and the "paperclip problem." A few detractors note that Skynet's nuclear strategy is unrealistic, arguing subversion of infrastructure is more likely. Some commenters point out that capitalism already functions as a self-organizing, unstoppable system analogous to Skynet.
One commenter calls the F-16 an "expensive drone," while another counters that it is a "murderbot" with autonomous kill capability, noting semi-autonomous drones already exist in Ukraine.