Electronics Weekly
Basically, it aims to be a proving ground for the best artificial intelligence models for military support.
“There has never been a more important time to prove which implementations of AI technologies are the best, to help the United States stay ahead of the threats facing our nation and allies,” said Lockheed Martin’s senior vp of Technology and Strategic Innovation, John Clark.
“AI Fight Club uses advanced simulation and visualization to evaluate AI in realistic and complex scenarios that mimic the challenges of modern warfare. Teams with the best AI will battle each other to determine the most robust, reliable and effective models.”
Simulation
According to Lockheed Martin, the virtual arena will simulate realistic scenarios across the four domains. In turn, this will give third parties the ability to test their models in simulations meeting U.S. Department of Defense qualifications.
The Bethesda, Maryland-headquartered company writes:
“Ultimately, events will bring together teams from across the industry and government experts to collaborate in a unique environment that fosters innovation, identifies vulnerabilities and informs the development of more advanced AI systems to benefit national security as a whole.”
Example competitions cited for the virtual arena include airborne operations in a contested environment. Or a coastal defense against amphibious assault, or space-based surveillance and reconnaissance.
AI Fight Club
How does it work? Lockheed Martin envisages teams of experts across industry competing against each other. Government representatives will also engage with the competitors as they demonstrate their systems.
The rival teams will be earning points based on predetermined evaluation metrics. This will enable the AI models to be evaluated objectively on their performance in each created scenario. Also, post competition, teams will have the opportunity – optionally – to publish their research and results.
Ultimately, the aim is that insights from the AI Fight Club will inform the development of future AI systems.
First fight
Lockheed Martin says it is currently developing the virtual arena that will host the first AI Fight Club. It expects to complete the simulation environment by the “end of Q3 2025”, with the first AI Fight Club competition scheduled before the end of this year.
Teams interested in competing can visit the competition website.
Image: Lockheed Martin
See also: Darpa selects Lockheed Martin for airborne AI Tools contract
