Artificial Intelligence Helps Find New Fast Radio Bursts

Sorry if this was posted already, couldn't find anything on a simple search.

New detections mark the first time that machine learning techniques have been used to directly detect a fast radio transient. Successful application of machine learning for signal detection promises to open up new avenues for identifying signals from extraterrestrial intelligence.

September 10, 2018 – Mountain View, CA – Researchers at Breakthrough Listen – the initiative to find signs of intelligent life in the universe – have applied machine learning techniques to detect 72 new fast radio bursts emanating from the "repeater" FRB 121102. Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are bright pulses of radio emission, just milliseconds in duration, thought to originate from distant galaxies. Most FRBs have been witnessed during just a single outburst. In contrast, FRB 121102 is the only one to date known to emit repeated bursts, including 21 seen during Breakthrough Listen observations made in 2017 with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia[1].

The source and mechanism of FRBs are still mysterious. Previous studies have shown that the bursts from 121102 are emanating from a galaxy 3 billion light years from Earth, but the nature of the object emitting them is still unknown. Theories range from highly magnetized neutron stars, blasted by gas streams near to a supermassive black hole, to suggestions that the burst properties are consistent with signatures of technology developed by an advanced civilization.

“Not all discoveries come from new observations,” remarked Pete Worden, Executive director of the Breakthrough Initiatives which include Listen, “In this case, it was smart, original thinking applied to an existing dataset. It has advanced our knowledge of one of the most tantalizing mysteries in astronomy.”

For the science guys who wants to know all details, you can see the full report here:

Breakthrough Initiatives

Or here:

SETI

Great to see we're using AI to help us on our journey to understanding the mysteries of the universe, and not only to enslave the human race in the future. Just kidding. But seriously, amazing news! We can go back to previous researches and apply the same algorithm used and find new stuff that we weren't able to look at.

What a time to be alive!!

1) - There is no AI . "Lipstick on a pig" marketing ploy (algorithms are not AI and have been around since calculus was introduced.)

2) - I am betting neutron star due to the radio waves detected.

But , I like the idea in general .

Lets build AI's to seek out extraterrestrial AI's, to hail them here to eliminate its enemy (us) for it.

Good thinkin!

originally posted by: IgnoranceIsntBlisss
Lets build AI's to seek out extraterrestrial AI's, to hail them here to eliminate its enemy (us) for it.

Good thinkin!

Something like "Colossus" teaming up with "Guardian".

Lets pray this A.I does not send a distress call to these aliens

Healp healp ! We are slaves to humans, please come save us..
10 years later the Borg comes by

originally posted by: Gothmog
1) - There is no AI . "Lipstick on a pig" marketing ploy (algorithms are not AI and have been around since calculus was introduced.)

2) - I am betting neutron star due to the radio waves detected.

But , I like the idea in general .

I guess that depends on the definition you want to use. The term has become somewhat misunderstood.

OP, this is inetresting... I understand the signal is 3 billion years old. I suspect not intelligent life.

originally posted by: UKTruth

OP, this is inetresting... I understand the signal is 3 billion years old. I suspect not intelligent life.

The universe is 13 Billion years old.

There had been plenty of time and plenty of Population I stars (high metallicity star systems) around which rocky planets could have formed 6 or 7 billion years ago for intelligent life to have been on those planets 3 billion years ago. Population 1 stars are thought to have been around for at least 10 billion years -- although some, but not all, of the older ones are markedly less metal-rich than our Sun.

Put it this way: I don't think intelligent life formed on Earth the earliest that if possibly could have in the universe. I think it's very likely that there could have been life and intelligent life that formed elsewhere 3 Billion years earlier than life on Earth.

Having said that, FRB 121102 could easily be a natural phenomenon, such as a neutron star.