I wonder the same.... AI is good for making use of unstructured information, but for structured numerical information from sensors, an advanced optimal control

I wonder the same.... AI is good for making use of unstructured information, but for structured numerical information from sensors, an advanced optimal control algorithm like MPC will likely perform as well or better. Plus MPC isn't a black box, and so is amenable to characterization, interpretation and analysis. It also has robustness-enhancing features that have been developed over decades, so the fallbacks are known.