👽Talking to Aliens with AI

SETI and NASA scientists propose AI as a tool for teaching aliens about our planet

Key Points 

• Scientists from SETI and NASA have proposed using an LLM to allow extraterrestrials to interact with and explore human knowledge.

• Current data transmission speeds mean it could take centuries to send large models, but data compression could reduce this to about 20 years.

🛸News - Franck Marchis from the SETI Institute and NASA's Ignacio Lopez-Francos recently wrote an op-ed for Scientific American. In it, they talked about using AI to communicate with intelligent extraterrestrial life.

Here’s what they’re proposing: instead of a talking robot or sentient computer, they suggested something simpler—putting an interactive historical record on a disk for any intelligent life that finds it.

🚀Where did the idea come from? Back in 1977, when the U.S. launched the Voyager 1 spacecraft, scientists included a 12-inch, gold-plated disc with pictures, music, sounds, and texts about our planet. The then President Jimmy Carter even added a message for any aliens who might find it.

With today's advanced technology, Marchis and Lopez-Francos think it's time for an update. Instead of just sending images, songs, and writings, they suggest using an LLM so aliens can ask their own questions and explore our knowledge more deeply.

👽What they envision - According to the scientists, using an LLM could let extraterrestrial beings interact with us and learn about humanity without the delays of space travel. However, they also highlight risks, such as the possibility of hostile beings misusing the information. Plus, we’d need to figure out how to send an AI system that operates without the internet.

One option is to follow Voyager 1's example, putting the technology on a drive and sending it out. But with Voyager 1 taking nearly 50 years to travel just 15 billion miles, it wouldn't reach our closest star, Alpha Centauri, until around 3084. The other option is to send a signal with the data needed to transmit an LLM, though this would require transmitting data over vast distances at high speed.

🤔Can this work for real? NASA has installations near the Moon that can transmit data at about 100 megabytes per second, which is comparable to what we can achieve on Earth. However, the scientists say that with current technology, interstellar communication would slow to just 100 bits per second. This means sending a model like Meta’s Llama-3-70B to the next galaxy could take centuries. But with some data-compression techniques, they think this time could be reduced to about 20 years.

Singapore allocates $74.36 million to advance quantum computing and AI innovation in finance

Key Points 

• The MAS has expanded its Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI 3.0) with an additional USD 74.36 million.

• The first AI pilot project under this scheme will focus on detecting scams and fraud, involving banks, technology providers, and public agencies.

🏦News - The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has allocated SGD 100 million (about USD 74.36 million) to enhance the quantum computing and artificial intelligence capabilities of its finance sector. 

This investment is intended to support local financial institutions in building quantum computing infrastructure and accelerating the development and implementation of AI technologies.

🥸For context - In 2022, the MAS launched the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI 3.0) to boost Singapore's status as a fintech hub. On 18 July, the regulator increased its initial three-year commitment of SGD 150 million (about USD 111.5 million) by an additional USD 74.36 million.

📊What's the plan? The MAS believes that AI has significant potential to address industry-wide issues that individual financial institutions cannot tackle alone. Accordingly, some of the funds will be used to establish AI innovation centers for developing, training, and deploying AI models across various applications.

Notably, MAS has confirmed that the first AI pilot project will focus on detecting scams and fraud. The regulator will involve banks, technology solution providers, and public agencies in this AI initiative.