Chapter 535

Chapter 535: The Birth Mechanism of Chaos

Inside the expansive hangar of Area 51, where Boeing showcased the sixth-generation fighter solution F/A-XX for the American military, there were not only aviation design experts from various countries but also representatives from the U.S. military, including the Navy and the Air Force.

This was a crisis artificially created by Boeing, a gamble filled with both danger and opportunity. Making such a decision required tremendous courage.

If they couldn’t withstand the skepticism from global experts, this failed product would undoubtedly be scrapped. However, if it received praise from around the world, the admiration from the industry would secure an undeniable deep impression of this fighter jet in the minds of the American military.

In the future, when transitioning to the sixth-generation fighter, Boeing would thus hold a significant advantage.

Furthermore, once the military made an internal decision, Boeing would have sufficient time for production line adjustments and cost controls before the official induction, ensuring maximum profit and the most stable quality.

Many countries’ research departments had experience with intelligent systems, and some had even reached quite advanced levels. Intelligent ground combat robots, unmanned combat aircraft, and intelligent dialogue systems were still quite mysterious to the public, but for the military, which armed itself with cutting-edge technology, these were not new concepts.

All present were familiar with such technology; they had all dealt with intelligent systems to varying degrees in their past work. Some experts even had the capability to develop programs with a certain level of intelligence themselves, so they understood both the advantages and disadvantages of intelligent systems very well.

The advantages of intelligent systems lay in their high replicability, allowing for the zero-cost duplication of combat-effective forces that remained consistent, unlike human pilots who varied widely. They could maintain absolute calm and logic, fearlessness towards death, very quick reaction times, and high execution efficiency. They could endure overloads that humans could not withstand, offering a wider range of tactical maneuvers while being more aggressive in attacks, often seizing an advantage early in engagements.

Especially since they operated without remote control during autonomous combat, if there were no specially encrypted hardware keys, they were immune to deceptive signals.

Once mass-produced, they would form a massive combat power, and without the rookie period or flight talent influences on human pilots, as long as there were enough resources, it would be easy to arm an aerial force exceeding that of human pilots.

Most importantly, with no human casualties, the users would not face compensation claims or social pressure from their own country. As for foreign casualties, they were merely a distant concern; aside from a few human rights advocates, no one would care.

It was as if, like the twin stars of fate, disadvantages would accompany the advantages. They were overly dogmatic, learning only what humans taught them, and would never have a moment of inspiration. If faced with an unconventional opponent, they would likely struggle to respond, and their restrained tactics could be easily replicated.

Addressing this flaw would require a long time and substantial accumulation of tactical data; the development time and investment costs far exceeded those needed to train an ace pilot.

The hardware technology advancements governed by Moore’s Law posed a natural challenge for upgrades to intelligent systems, making program upgrades exceptionally difficult. Often, they would find themselves in an embarrassing situation of falling behind before the final version was even completed.

Program development inevitably faced bugs and could also be affected by powerful electromagnetic pulses and viruses. If a frozen system or a deadlock occurred, then hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of fighter jets could be obliterated in an instant, leaving no opportunity for a last-ditch rescue.

Even in the computer center of the "Night" Special Forces base where Lin Mo was located, a complex, large-scale intelligent system called "Nuwa" operated continuously, managing the vast base and handling information management for the Special Forces. It facilitated smooth human-machine voice dialogue mechanisms.

However, that was merely a repeatedly perfected keyword response program, preset with answers that automatically reacted based on the vocabulary of human speech.

Most countries’ intelligent systems operated on similar principles, but Boeing’s intelligent system was different.

“‘Adam’ is a battle-hardened warrior, combining over a dozen ace fighter pilots’ air combat experiences from America. Its combat database integrates all tactical maneuvers known to humanity, even including unprecedented super maneuvers that humans can’t achieve. Within a portion of this fighter jet’s database is the unique secret technique of Erich Hartmann, the ‘king of air combat’ from World War II.”

The host from Boeing spoke sparingly yet pointedly, sharing crucial information that sent shivers down the spines of the aviation experts present.

The name Erich Hartmann was enough to intimidate; he was hailed as the world’s number one ace pilot. This former German Air Force fighter pilot achieved a staggering record of 352 aerial victories during World War II, setting an unprecedented height in air combat history that may never be surpassed, forcing Hartmann’s successors to live helplessly in his shadow!

With 352 kills, he could easily dismantle the air forces of any country except China, the United States, and Russia, rendering them obliterated and leaving their airspace surrendered.

Some smaller nations couldn’t even muster ten fighter pilots or ten fighter jets; encountering a pilot of Erich Hartmann’s caliber meant one jet could annihilate an entire country!

Wasn’t Boeing implying that this F/A-XX fighter equipped with the ‘Adam’ intelligent combat system could single-handedly take down many nations?

“May I ask, what is the birth mechanism of the ‘Adam’ system? Is it based on chaos collision theory or simulated neurons? I’d like to know the proportions of fuzzy theory and precision theory within.”

An expert seized the moment to ask, right after the host finished speaking.

“Dr. Thomas from Lockheed, it’s a pleasure to have you here.”

The host seemed well-trained in recognizing faces, identifying the expert who asked the question as Dr. Thomas Logan, an aviation expert from Lockheed Martin and a member of the F-22 design team, who had previously collaborated with Boeing on technology.

The aviation industry resembled the Warring States period, where unity inevitably leads to division, and division inevitably leads to unity. This “unity” referred to cooperation, as the resources required for fighter jets were extraordinarily vast. No single entity could dominate; thus, competition alongside collaboration persisted.

The hardware and software of the F-22 Raptors were supported by Boeing, and while Lockheed had secured the F-22 orders, Boeing also gained a share, providing wings, fuselage, radar systems, general dynamics systems, task software, avionics integration, testing, training, and maintenance.

Software system development was also a strong suit of Boeing. Their Block system enhanced the F-22’s radar, electronic warfare, communication, navigation, and identification capabilities while adding global positioning ability to the comprehensive avionics.

Thus, Boeing, with its solid foundational advantages, took the lead in developing the next-generation unmanned combat system "Adam."

“Can you answer that?”

Dr. Thomas adjusted his glasses, feeling the gaze of other experts, some with significant meanings, some with schadenfreude, while many more appeared to be watching an unfolding drama.

Lockheed Martin felt a blend of envy and resentment toward Boeing for being the first to release the sixth-generation fighter. They did not want to be driven out of the supplier list for the sixth-generation fighter or end up like Boeing providing services and products to Lockheed, getting merely scraps.

History had shown that working for others bore little fruit and often resulted in being constrained by others, making it forever hard to rise.

“The emergence of the ‘Adam’ system is a coincidence. It was born from chaos collision theory, for which we established a project team, mobilized experts to upgrade using a simulated neural structure, continuously supplementing the data model for tuning. We spent nearly twenty years on this, so one could say ‘Adam’ grew up alongside the F/A-XX.”

The host’s opening statement sparked a wave of gasps from the audience.

Chaos collision theory resembled the birth of life, filled with countless uncertainties—intelligence might emerge, or fearsome viruses, with many outcomes yielding nothing. Ultimately, what would be birthed was unpredictable and uncontrollable.

One could only rely on divine intervention, occasionally graced by a miraculous touch, resulting in the birth of wonders.

Without sufficient patience and luck, it would only lead to the moon shining on the ditch.

Boeing took such a risk in nurturing the intelligent core, showcasing notable courage in their gamble.

The reason they dared to reveal the truth was that the method by which Boeing obtained this intelligent core was fundamentally unreplicable; even if they provided others with the chaotic platform and the same servers, computing under the same conditions for decades wouldn’t guarantee the emergence of a decent intelligent core.

“Wow, talk about good luck!”

“Indeed, what a stroke of luck!”

Voices of envy echoed in the room, wishing they could dismantle the ‘Adam’ system from the craft and take it back for research.

“Our large servers are also conducting similar research, running for thirty years, and we haven’t produced anything useful. The highest intelligence we’ve achieved is that of a chicken.”

“You’re also working on chaotic models? My goodness, that’s time-consuming and labor-intensive, requiring substantial financial investment.”

“We specifically built a small nuclear power station for this; how about you?”

“Of course, we’re working on a bionic simulated neural network system, damn it—all relying on sheer numbers, so the efficiency isn’t high. To get a decent system, it’ll take at least another fifty years.”

The experts exchanged sarcastic remarks, and unanimously, like Lockheed Martin, they were filled with jealousy towards Boeing.