STRATEGIC PARTNERS

AHFA partners with multiple organizations who share similar missions to empower and engage youth in aviation. A complete list of our partners include:

AHFA

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

  • Be at least 16 years old by 1 June of the flight training year.
  • Be enrolled in high school* or homeschool during the flight training year.
  • Be a US citizen **
  • Have no more than 5 powered flight hours 
  • 3.0 current Grade Point Average either with an unofficial GPA Transcript or a registrar/counselor verifiable memorandum.

Notes: 

  • No flight or aviation experience necessary (we teach you to fly!)  
  • No commitment or obligation to the Air Force  
  • *USAFA & AFROTC Cadets may apply through their institutions
  • **Non-US Citizens regardless of residency status are ineligible to apply

 

Videos from DVIDShub.net

QuEST (2024-06-07) Benjamin Kuipers - Drinking From the Firehose of Experience
Air Force Research Laboratory
Video by Kevin D Schmidt
May 12, 2025 | 01:16:50
Consciousness is an important but mysterious aspect of human intelligence. As AI researchers work toward building computational intelligent systems, what role should consciousness play in such systems?
Most of this talk describes steps toward a cognitive architecture to explain the benefits of consciousness to an intelligent agent, specifically in helping it cope with the overwhelming information content of its sensorimotor interaction with the physical world. First, a relatively small number of dynamic trackers provide continuous access to changing entities within the sensory field, simultaneously providing concise descriptions for symbolic reasoning and access to rich sensory input about those entities in the world. Second, a coherent sequential narrative is constructed, about 300-500 milliseconds after the fact, attempting to explain experienced events in terms of interactions among the tracked entities. The trackers and the narrative together provide a concise summary of the overwhelming complexity of sensorimotor interaction, with which the agent can reason and plan.
This cognitive architecture proposal addresses what is sometimes called the “Easy Problem” of consciousness. The “Hard Problem” is: “Why does consciousness feel like anything at all?” I offer some observations on perceptual vividness, and a few other philosophical matters related to consciousness.
Many of these ideas are introduced in “Drinking From the Firehose of Experience”


Key Moments and Questions in the video include:

What is the mind?
Consciousness is a Phenomenon in the World
The problems of Consciousness
AI and Robotics Provide Insights
What is a Robot?
Drinking from the Firehose of Experience
Trackers in the Sensor Stream
A simple Object Tracker
Fictional Tracker Illustration
A tracker is an index into the firehose of experience
Tackers: their importance is not a new idea
Making Sense of Experience
The Constructivist Agent
Intentionality
The problems of Consciousness
The Easy Problem
The Function of Consciousness
The Hard problem
Sneaking up on the Hard Problem
Vivid Qualia have Lots of Bits
Does information transfer feel like anything at all?
Can a Machine be Conscious
Pushing the Boundaries
Features of Consciousness
Conclusions
Open discussion More

Tags

questAFRLArtificial IntelligenceACT3consciosness More
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QuEST (2024-06-07) Benjamin Kuipers - Drinking From the Firehose of Experience
QuEST (2024-06-07) Benjamin Kuipers - Drinking From the Firehose of Experience
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Resources

AHFA Locations & Training Partners

  • California Aeronautical University, CA 
  • California Baptist University, CA 
  • Marion Military Institute, AL 
  • Oklahoma State University, OK  
  • South Dakota State University, SD 
  • Troy University, AL
  • Schreiner University, TX
  • University of Texas San Antonio, TX
  • Tennesse State University, TN

*To learn how to become one of our training locations please email: 

 Afrs.ahfa.studentapplications@us.af.mil 

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS RECEIVE* 

  • Up to 12-15 flight hours 
  • Housing and meals during training 
  • Transportation to/from training location 
  • Classroom training (ground school) 
  • Flight simulator training 
  • All training is provided by FAA Certified Flight Instructors 
  • Access to university recreation facilities 
  • Mentorship from Air Force aviators  

*All items funded by USAF except:

  • FAA Class III Med Certificate
  • Luggage during travel
  • Personal driving to/from university assigned session

Contact us

 

 

                                                              Please direct program questions to: Afrs.ahfa.studentapplications@us.af.mil