







Artificial intelligence and machine learning will be “essential” to finding and proving the existence of extraterrestrial life and UFOs, NASA said.
The space agency recently released its highly anticipated 36-page UFO report that said NASA doesn’t have enough high-quality data to make a “definitive, scientific conclusion” about the origin of UFOs.
Moving forward, AI will be vital to pinpointing anomalies while combing through large datasets, according to the report compiled by NASA’s independent research team on UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena), a fancy word for UFO.
“We will use AI and machine learning to search the skies for anomalies… and will continue to search the heavens for habitable reality,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a Sept. 14 briefing. “AI is just coming on the scene to be explored in all areas, so why should we limit any technological tool in analyzing, using data that we have?”
NASA CAN’T EXPLAIN ‘HANDFUL’ OF UFO SIGHTINGS AS IT SEARCHS FOR ‘SIGNS OF LIFE’
Dr. Nicola Fox, NASA’s associate administrator, elaborated on Nelson’s point, saying AI “is an amazing tool” to find “signatures that are sort of buried in data.”
That’s how NASA, and scientists around the world, are going to be able to find the metaphorical needle in a haystack, Fox said.
WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?
“So a lot of our data are just sort of wiggly line plots. We get excited about wiggly line plots, by the way, but sometimes, you see the wiggles, but you miss a signal,” she said.
“By using artificial intelligence, we can often find signatures. So one example we’ve had is to be able to find signatures of superstorms using very old data that, you know, really is before sort of like routine scientific satellite data.”
Using AI was a key component of the 16-member, independent UAP research team’s report.
“The panel finds that sophisticated data analysis techniques, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, must be used in a comprehensive UAP detection campaign when coupled with systematic data gathering and robust curation,” the report says.
UFO ‘HOTSPOTS’ MAP REVEALS CLUSTER OF SIGHTINGS LINKED TO ATOM BOMBS, WAR ZONES
The use of AI has been a controversial topic that governments around the world, including the U.S., are grappling with.
Advocates have lauded the potential capabilities of generative AI and the possibility it could catapult society to the next evolution of humankind. On the flip side, it can also create a dystopian future if guardrails aren’t put in place, or if it’s in the hands of ill-intended users, experts have warned.
WATCH VIDEO ABOUT PENTAGON’S NEW UFO WEBSITE
Earlier this month, over 100 members of Congress met with big tech tycoons such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg about AI, and some senators expressed concern about unregulated AI.
The NASA panel was asked if regulating AI would impact the space agency’s ability to use the budding technology to potentially find extraterrestrial life.
Nelson brushed off concerns that regulations would hamper NASA’s mission.
“No, don’t think that any attempts to that the Congress has underway to try to write a law that would appropriately put guardrails around AI for other reasons is anyway going to inhibit us from utilizing the tools of AI to help us in our quest on this specific issue,” Nelson said in response to the question.
READ NASA’S FULL SEPT. 14 REPORT
NASA’s study of UAPs is separate from the Pentagon’s investigation through the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), although the two investigations are running on parallel tracks that include corroborative efforts.
Much like a team of peer reviewers, NASA commissions independent study teams as a formal part of NASA’s scientific process, and such teams provide the agency external counsel and an increased network of perspectives from scientific experts.
They were assigned to pinpoint the data available around UAP and produce a report that outlines a roadmap for how NASA can use its tools of science to obtain usable data to evaluate and provide suggestions moving forward.
Sharon Osbourne reflected on her decision to stop using Ozempic after admitting that she may have shed more pounds than she initially intended while on the injectable diabetes medication, which has also become a popular weight loss drug.
The 70-year-old television personality weighed in on why she quit taking Ozempic during an appearance alongside her husband Ozzy, 74, Kelly, 38, and Jack, 37, on Talk TV’s “Piers Morgan Uncensored.”
“You can’t stay on it forever, firstly,” Osbourne explained. “I’ve lost 42 pounds now and it’s just enough.”
She continued, “It’s just time to stop, I didn’t actually want to go this thin but it just happened.”
“And I’ll probably put it all on again soon,” “The Osbournes” alum added.
Osbourne went on to describe her experience with taking Ozempic and cautioned others against using the drug.
“At first, you feel nauseous,” she told Morgan, 58. “You don’t throw up physically, but you’ve got that feeling and I was about two, three weeks where I felt nauseous the whole time. You get very thirsty and you don’t want to eat. That’s it.”
“That’s why I keep saying, you’ve got to keep this stuff away from younger people because they will go berserk on it and it’s not right,” the U.K. native added.
Osbourne previously spoke out about using “the f—ing injection that everybody takes” to lose weight, referring to Ozempic, during an appearance on the “Club Random with Bill Maher” podcast last month.
“When you have a weight problem and you’ve tried everything, and then somebody says, ‘Take this injection and you’re going to be skinny,’” she said.
Maher noted that “you’re always playing the odds” when it comes to healthcare, and Osbourne agreed.
The former “America’s Got Talent Host” elaborated on the side effects that she experienced while using the drug.
“It’s different for everybody, but for me, the first few weeks was f—ing s— because you just throw up all the time. You feel so nauseous,” Osbourne said.
The former talk show host also revealed she used to slide back into bad habits, noting she’s “always had a weight problem,” but hasn’t after being on Ozempic.
“Usually I do, I’ll give it a couple of weeks and then I’m like, f— it, I’ll have pasta,” she said.
Osbourne also joked about losing weight at a time when fuller figures are being welcomed.
“It was just my luck that when big bums come in, I don’t f—ing have one anymore,” she quipped. “My whole life I spent getting rid of my f—ing bum, and now it’s all in.”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
Earlier this year, Osbourne spoke about using an injectable weight loss drug to lose 30 pounds, but did not specify which one.
On “The Talk UK” in May, she said, “I took it for four months and I lost 30 pounds, but like everything, there’s always no quick recipe.”
She continued, “I was very sick for a couple of months. The first couple of months, I just felt nauseous. Every day I felt nauseous, my stomach was upset, whatever.”
“But listen, I took it for four months, I lost 30 pounds. I’ve just shoved two chips in my mouth, while we had the break, and I eat normally now, and I haven’t put on a pound. Nothing,” she explained.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Stanton contributed to this report.
Zach Bryan appears uncooperative with an officer during a traffic stop in newly released police bodycam footage.
The country music singer was stopped in Verdigris, Oklahoma, Sept. 4 for allegedly speeding, just three days before his arrest during a separate traffic stop in Craig County.
In police bodycam video from the Sept. 4 traffic stop, Bryan did not want to give an officer his address because he’s a “famous musician.”
“I’m not really comfortable sharing that,” Bryan told the officer when asked for his address.
COUNTRY MUSIC STAR ZACH BRYAN ARRESTED IN RURAL OKLAHOMA
WATCH: COUNTRY SINGER ZACH BRYAN SEEN TELLING COPS HE’S A ‘FAMOUS MUSICIAN’ IN NEW BODYCAM FOOTAGE
The officer asked him a second time, and Bryan still didn’t cooperate.
“I don’t think it’s anyone’s business where I live,” Bryan says. “I’m a famous musician, and I don’t want anyone knowing where I live.”
Bryan was then handcuffed, and the country singer asked to be released or taken to jail.
The officer let him go after giving him a speeding ticket. Per the bodycam footage, Bryan was driving 68 mph in a 50 mph zone.
“Normally, people don’t refuse their information,” the officer told Bryan. “When they start refusing information, I don’t recognize you from Adam. I’m out here on a dark roadway, OK?”
Following Bryan’s incident in Verdigris, he was arrested in Craig County Sept. 7 and again appeared uncooperative with police.
Dashcam video from the Sept. 7 traffic stop shows the country music singer arguing with an officer after Bryan’s security guard was pulled over for speeding.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
In the video obtained by Fox News Digital, Bryan is seen emerging from his own vehicle and approaching his security guard’s white SUV that was pulled over by police.
Bryan was instructed to return to his vehicle or he would be arrested.
“You either get back in your truck or go to jail, I don’t care,” the officer said. Bryan replied, “I’ll go to jail, let’s do it.”
Bryan was handcuffed and placed in the front seat of the officer’s cruiser. According to the dashcam video and a police report obtained by Fox News Digital, Bryan repeatedly complained about the tightness of the handcuffs.
In the video, Bryan tells the arresting officer if he doesn’t let him out of the handcuffs, “it’s going to be a mistake.”
WATCH: ZACH BRYAN TELLS OKLAHOMA OFFICER HE’S MAKING A ‘MISTAKE’ BY KEEPING HIM IN HANDCUFFS
The country music star is heard on the video saying, “F—ing cops are out of hand, truly.”
Bryan told the officer he knows several Oklahoma police officers and has even invited “40” of them to his recent shows.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
After the arresting officer finished writing up his traffic citation, he inspected Bryan’s handcuffs and noted they didn’t appear tight, but he adjusted them for the musician’s comfort, according to the police report.
Bryan was then taken to jail on an obstruction of investigation charge and released not long after. After his release, Bryan took to X, formerly Twitter, to clarify what happened.
“Today I had an incident with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Emotions got the best of me and I was out of line in the things I said,” his social media statement began.
“I support law enforcement as much as anyone can, I was just frustrated in the moment, it was unlike me and I apologize. They brought me to jail, and there is a mug shot of me floating around. Prayers we can all move on from this and prayers people know I’m just trying the best I can, I love you guys and I am truly sorry to the officers.”
The life sciences industry is right to be optimistic about the potential of generative AI. Biotech startups are already testing AI-generated drugs in clinical trials with human patients. Researchers have estimated that AI-powered drug discovery could drive as much as $50 billion in economic value over the next decade.
As the CEO of Dotmatics, a software company that builds technology for pharmaceutical scientists and researchers, I’m excited for anything that promises to reduce the time and cost of getting new drugs to market and ultimately decreasing the costs of therapies for patients.
However, when it comes to AI, this is no Cambrian moment. Like previous and transformative technological advances before it, the march toward an AI-supported future of drug discovery will necessarily be deliberate, incremental and marked with ups and downs.
REAL LIFE DR. DOLITTLE? SCIENTISTS ON VERGE OF CRACKING CODE FOR TALKING TO ANIMALS
We’re already seeing setbacks: a schizophrenia drug discovered with AI recently failed two Phase 3 clinical trials. It may be years until the costs and timelines of drug discovery decrease measurably, particularly because some estimates are that more than 20% of the cost is from clinical trials which are necessarily manual.
And I worry that once the shine wears off of AI, interest from those outside of the lab will dissipate. Investors, governments and journalists will play key roles in funding, regulating and publicizing how AI is changing drug discovery.
So, I’m laying out my case for paying attention — and staying optimistic — as the life sciences industry does the hard work to make the promise of AI a reality.
Long seen as a laggard among industries, life sciences is finally catching up in the race to digitally transform.
Pharma companies have access to scalable and cost-effective infrastructure and tooling for managing massive amounts of data, particularly as they adopt a more efficient approach to building databases for electronic data capture (EDC). The traditional approach for this sort of database build takes around 12 to 16 weeks.
Perhaps just as crucially, the life sciences ecosystem is finally aligned on the importance of digitization. In February 2020, digital leaders surveyed by McKinsey reported that their biggest hurdle to convincing their companies to transform was a “lack of leadership support.” But today, after the shock of the global coronavirus pandemic, that hurdle barely rates.
Strategic alignment and executive leadership are only the first steps. Pharma still faces significant challenges in making AI useful — namely, a tsunami of data and complex new treatment modalities.
Advanced research techniques produce ever-larger amounts of information. Genomics research is expected to generate between twp and 40 exabytes of data within the next decade. (An exabyte is one billion gigabytes, so that’s about 8.3 million iPhones’ (128 GB size) worth of storage.) And the velocity of the growth of that data is only increasing.
This detailed data offers tremendous long-term value for drug development, though it poses short-term challenges. Pharma companies must learn to harness it for AI to be effective in the lab. It’s not just a matter of buying the right technology — organizations also need to ensure their data governance practices.
This includes designing data collection protocols with future reuse in mind. The R&D process for new treatment modalities, such as monoclonal antibodies, mRNA vaccines, and gene editing is costlier and riskier than for traditional drugs.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
Life sciences companies must be able to use the knowledge their researchers gain from abandoned targets and clinical failures to make ongoing development of new treatments cost-effective.
All of this work, from upgrading technology to analyzing the results of failed clinical trials, is slow and arduous because of the manual work involved. Frankly, it’s going to be a grind.
But that’s what makes progress meaningful. By investing in the platforms and processes that enable the practical use of AI in the lab, Pharma companies are building the foundations for a future in which scientists develop treatments quickly and cost-effectively. Each new drug candidate, whether it succeeds in clinical trials or not, represents a step toward better health and quality of life for people with both common or rare diseases.
Keep in mind that the introduction of ChatGPT wasn’t a Cambrian moment either. The idea of large language models dates back to the 1960s. Computer scientists and chip designers worked quietly and diligently for decades to make the release of ChatGPT possible. Along the way, they delivered advances in data storage and processing that have transformed how we live and work.
Pharma’s march toward successful application of AI will be punctuated with the same small wins that add up to transformative change. Hardworking scientists and researchers should acknowledge and celebrate this incremental progress — and so should the rest of us.
© 2023 Worth Thinking About
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑