“Aliens and AI: Can Artificial Intelligence Crack Extraterrestrial Communication?”
In a world obsessed with fictional aliens speaking perfect English, the reality might not be so straightforward. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) may require the help of artificial intelligence (AI) to decipher and understand alien messages. But here’s the catch – aliens won’t be speaking a human language.
Eamonn Kerins, an astrophysicist from the University of Manchester, suggests that aliens might make their messages as simple as possible to make them universally understandable. It could be something as basic as a mathematical sequence to convey the message, “We’re here, you’re not alone.”
Receiving recognizable mathematical information, like pi or prime numbers, has been considered in SETI for decades. But the complexity lies in the structure of the alien language. It could be far more intricate and complex than human communication, making it challenging for us to decipher.
This is where AI comes in. Information theory, developed by Claude Shannon and further expanded by George Zipf, helps distill the information content of any communication. AI can analyze the complexity in the structure of the alien message, looking for patterns and understanding the syntax.
Linguists call this complexity “Shannon entropy,” and human languages have the highest Shannon entropy of any known form of natural communication. Observing the rate of occurrence of specific units, or bits, can help determine if a message adheres to Zipf’s Law.
In the search for alien communication, researchers believe that SETI should specifically look for signals that carry a –1 slope in terms of their occurrence. Machine-learning algorithms can be configured to analyze potential signals and identify whether they follow Zipf’s Law.
AI already plays a role in understanding communication from non-human species. Denise Herzing, a leading expert in dolphin communication, uses AI algorithms to break down dolphin sounds into discrete units and assign them letters or words.
So, can AI crack extraterrestrial communication? It’s a possibility. With AI’s ability to understand and produce natural language, it might just be the key to deciphering alien messages that are far more complex than human languages.
Now, we want to hear from you! Do you think AI can truly help decode extraterrestrial communication? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts!
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[Question for the reader]: Do you think AI can truly help decode extraterrestrial communication?
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