UK-based AI firm DeepMind collaborated with the Swiss Plasma Center at EPFL in Switzerland to create an algorithm that would control the plasma inside a nuclear fusion reactor. The program is tasked to hold the plasma, forcing it to hold its shape long enough to extract energy from it. The resulting AI was able to control the reactor without any fine-tuning. While the model controlled the plasma for only two seconds, that short amount of time was longer than how long reactors can run before getting too hot.
The breakthrough can help experts understand how nuclear fusion works. Additionally, it can hopefully help in more ways to stabilize the plasma in reactors to harness a potentially unlimited source of clean energy.
Image credit: Curdin Wüthrich, SPC/EPFL
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