Fusion control

Area: definition. Apply the shared measurement protocol.

Estimated progress toward AI-managed energy

35% complete — judgment-based estimate as of November 7, 2026. Confidence: low. The scale starts at 0% before ChatGPT's public release in 2022 and ends at 100% when AI manages the field's continuing advancement without human participation. This rates the outcome's contribution to that transition, not the percentage of tasks solved, a measured fraction of the field, or time remaining.

The shared scoring rubric uses five equally weighted dimensions: execution, breadth, agenda-setting, validation, and sustained autonomous improvement. Points for this outcome are 10 + 5 + 5 + 10 + 5 = 35/100, in that order; each dimension has a maximum of 20. These component judgments make the estimate inspectable, but are not independently measured scores.

Reason for the estimate: Real-machine control experiments and fast feedback demonstrate useful bounded autonomy. Reproducibility across operating regimes and autonomous research planning remain limited. The dated baseline below supplies the findings and source links used for this assessment. Unmeasured components receive no demonstrated-progress credit; missing evidence does not prove a missing capability.

What would move the score: Record shot-level tracking error, stable seconds, disruptions/all shots and repeatability against the existing controller under matched plasma conditions. Higher autonomy scores additionally require AI to select worthwhile work, validate results and improve the process over repeated cycles without human research management, repair or adjudication. Lower the score if replication fails, quality regresses or previously hidden human assistance is found. Preserve this dated estimate when adding future assessments.

Measurement and acceptance rule

Plasma tracking error, stable operating duration, disruption rate, and experimental reproducibility on specified hardware.

Evidence requirements

Separate simulation, controlled experiment, pilot installation, and operational deployment. Use metered outcomes and matched or randomized comparisons where feasible. Include hardware changes, maintenance costs, model computation, and rebound effects when relevant. Evaluate reliability constraints alongside efficiency; simulated savings or plasma gain must not be relabeled as delivered commercial electricity.

Related milestones

See the area's proposed milestones. Proposed targets are distinct from the dated evidence below.

Baseline as of November 7 2026

Status: Real-machine control demonstration. Sources accessed November 7, 2026. This is a documentary baseline, not an independent replication or an assertion of the worldwide best result. An unknown measurement is not zero.

Dated findings

September 2, 2026: PPPL reports PACMAN making control decisions in milliseconds and testing the framework in five DIII-D experiments. PPPL: PACMAN fusion control experiments.

Interpretation and tracking value

A demonstration count and decision latency do not establish disruption rate, stable duration or tracking error across operating conditions.

Next comparable measurement

Record shot-level tracking error, stable seconds, disruptions/all shots and repeatability against the existing controller under matched plasma conditions. Preserve this dated observation; append future results with their model/system version, denominator, budget and evidence level rather than overwriting it.