AI can now control fusion plasma faster than humans can react

Princeton researchers have tested an AI system that can monitor and control fusion plasma in milliseconds, reacting far faster than a human operator. In one experiment, it predicted a damaging instability about 200 milliseconds before it appeared and adjusted the plasma to stop it from forming. AI can now control fusion plasma faster than humans can react.

AI can now control fusion plasma faster than humans can react Science News from research organizations AI can now control fusion plasma faster than humans can react A new Princeton AI system can control fusion plasma in milliseconds and even predict dangerous instabilities before they happen. That is far too fast for a human operator to respond. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Princeton University have developed a new software framework that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make those rapid decisions while maintaining strict safety controls and leaving people responsible for setting the system’s objectives.

The framework is called PACMAN (a novel abbreviation for Prediction And Control using MAchiNe learning). Researchers successfully tested it on a real fusion system in five separate experiments. Its design and initial results are described in a new paper published in the journal Nuclear Fusion.

AI Takes on Fusion’s Millisecond Challenge Fusion has the potential to provide a virtually unlimited supply of electricity.