Posted on Monday, June 17th, 2019 by Will Hagle
Google Cloud Showcase
demonstrates how AI is being used to search for extraterrestrial life.
NASA’s Frontier Development Lab conducts artificial intelligence research in regards to how technology might advance space exploration. They recently partnered with Google Cloud in order to research how AI might help us find life on other planets. To present their research, they built an interactive website that’s fun for anyone with even the most rudimentary understanding of science (let alone astrophysics) to explore. The site explains the significant advancements that artificial intelligence has made in terms of locating, identifying, and analyzing exoplanets throughout the universe. If you don’t know what an exoplanet is, it’s okay, this site will explain it to you (basically, it’s an earth-like planet, usually trillions of miles away).
One of the most fascinating aspects of NASA’s Frontier Development Lab / Google Cloud Showcase presentation is the history of the scientific study of exoplanets. Essentially, AI has done far more than humans were ever capable of doing. That’s somewhat ironic, considering its humans who are searching for “life” that’s similar to their own conception of what life means. Still, AI has proved to be a valuable tool in our quest to find others out there in the universe. There are even little interactive exercises within the Google Cloud Showcase presentation that make exploring the site that much more fun, and an exciting way to think about humans’ role in the cosmos.
