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geniusgrunt t1_j9u306c wrote

Likely not aliens, got to iron out the kinks in the AI algorithm and/or human radio interference. However, machine learning applied to SETI is an exciting development for future searches.

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hondahb t1_j9uu2y4 wrote

I feel like when it actually is aliens, everyone's just going to say, likely not aliens.

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[deleted] t1_j9vueoj wrote

Yup I feel like scientists will invent the most outlandish natural excuses for a signal before entertaining the idea of aliens. "It's not aliens, it's actually a Magnetar that is behind a black hole in a galaxy that's colliding with another one and there just happens to be a cloud of gas floating between earth and the object"

I get why, but it's still annoying as some one who just wants to dream about answering one of life's big mysteries.

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Bensemus t1_j9zyb4r wrote

You are annoyed they put in the time to actually figure out wha the signal is vs lying and just saying it’s aliens?

They aren’t inventing these explanations.

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[deleted] t1_j9zylax wrote

I get annoyed when the aliens angle is immediately dismissed in favor of equally outlandish natural explanations simply because they are goal seeked to fit the data.

Its not a real annoyance, Id just like to hear more serious thought given to aliens when it makes sense, because its fun.

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TheRoadsMustRoll t1_j9v0mui wrote

>...kinks in the AI algorithm...

would there be a part of that algorithm that touches on any known aspect of actual alien life? because, without having experienced or interacted with an actual alien; it won't ever know what it's looking for. right?

its like asking AI which dress i'll wear when i've never once worn a dress: the return is going to be a random guess or null.

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kerfitten1234 t1_j9vhtv4 wrote

Disclaimer: I am too lazy to read the article. This is all just prior knowledge.

The only assumption SETI makes is that aliens wouldn't disguise their radio emissions as natural sources. You don't need to understand the signal to realize that it wasn't produced by any known natural phenomenon, and wasn't random.

An ai could quickly filter through the signals, eliminating any that have an obvious natural cause, passing the potentially interesting ones on to people.

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TheRoadsMustRoll t1_j9vkint wrote

>The only assumption SETI makes is that aliens wouldn't disguise their radio emissions as natural sources.

there's a secondary hidden assumption there: that aliens wouldn't use encryption when transmitting (which would make their transmissions sound like random background noise.)

but we use encryption and its considered commonplace.

i'm all for searching for signs of life but without some grown-up logic employed i'm dubious that anything will come of these activities.

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HildemarTendler t1_j9wm0uw wrote

Encryption isn't all that interesting. Any alien signal won't be built on our protocols or use our language. We are unable to understand an alien signal whether encrypted or not. The signal will look artificial either way.

The real assumption is that aliens capable of transmitting signals over galactic distances are still using RF to communicate.

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Euphoric_Koala t1_j9wh0ch wrote

Encryption doesn’t mean you can’t detect a signal only that the contents appear random. For example most wifi traffic is encrypted but if you examine the frequency spectrum near a device you can clearly see peaks around 2.4GHz where the signal is.

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kerfitten1234 t1_j9vn38x wrote

Your comment made me realize that there's a deeper assumption at the core: that any aliens emitting radio messages want to be heard.

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bradklyn t1_j9y57mo wrote

This. If there are advanced species out there, the window between when they start emitting signals and THEY discover other species exist and decide to hide signals is likely very narrow.

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Bensemus t1_j9zykea wrote

That’s not an assumption. SETI isn’t assuming aliens are broadcasting for our benefit. They are hoping to either detect messages intended for something else or signals that are naturally generated by technology.

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giantgreeneel t1_j9wd6hl wrote

It's a reasonable assumption. What would we be able to do with transmissions that look like random background noise anyway?

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JohnMayerismydad t1_j9yc87f wrote

Pretty sure any signal reaching us that can be received would have to be directed into space for the purpose of some other world hearing it.

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HildemarTendler t1_j9wl704 wrote

Yes, using AI is ludicrous. It brings nothing to the table that wasn't already being done. This is just part of the AI craze to get people excited about aliens.

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Disastrous_Elk_6375 t1_j9yzjmx wrote

No. There are definitely areas where ML can help. We have models that are known to be good at classification and that also generalise reasonably well. These models can and should be used to speed up the "anomaly detection" in a large amount of data. These models are also better at the task than manually defined "traditional" algorithms.

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