Princeton researchers report that a new AI model has solved one of the major roadblocks to generating fusion energy.
Scientists at Princeton University have developed an AI model that can predict and prevent plasma instabilities, a major hurdle in achieving practical fusion energy.
Key points:
Problem: Plasma escaping containment in donut-shaped tokamak reactors disrupts fusion reactions and damages equipment.
Solution: AI model predicts instabilities 300 milliseconds before they happen, allowing for adjustments to keep plasma contained.
Significance: This is the first time AI has been used to proactively prevent tearing instabilities in fusion experiments.
Future: Researchers hope to refine the model for other reactors and optimize fusion reactions.
Although it's been used for a fairly wide array of algorithms for decades. Everything from alpha-beta tree search to k-nearest-neighbors to decision forests to neural nets are considered AI.
Edit:
The paper is called
Avoiding fusion plasma tearing instability with deep reinforcement learning
Reinforcement learning and deep neural nets are buzzwordy these days, but neural nets have been an AI thing for decades and decades.
And AI is a buzzword that englobes a variety statistical tools. Articles write AI to evoke generative tools in people minds, but very specialized tools are at work here.
AI is a very broad term, ranging from physical AI (material and properties of a robotic grabbing tool) to AI (as seen in many games, or in a robotic arm to calculate path from current position to target position) and to MLAI (LLM, neural nets in general, KNN, etc.).
I guess it's much the same as asking "are vehicles bad?". I don't know, are we talking horse carriages? Cars? Planes? Electric scooters? Skateboards?
Going back to your question, AI in general is not bad, though LLMs have become too popular too quick and have thus ended up being misunderstood and misused. So you can indeed say that LLMs are bad, at least when not used for their intended purposes.
AI is most likely here to stay, so if you have it do "good" things effectively, then's it's a good boi. If it is ineffective or you have it do "bad" things, then it's a bad boy.