Tech: Should we let ChatGPT talk to aliens?

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July 23—This week, astronauts in zero gravity can boil water using this new device, SpaceX's plans to use a souped-up cargo capsule to deorbit the ISS, and the case for calling BS when ChatGPT generates nonsense. All that and more this week! --Ben Guarino, Associate Editor, Technology

Top Stories

Artificial Intelligence Will Let Humanity Talk to Alien Civilizations Large language models may enable real-time communication with extraterrestrial civilizations despite the vast distances between stars. We need to start thinking about what to tell them about us Franck Marchis, expert writer; Ignacio G. López-Francos , expert writer

Worldwide Tech Outage Started with Defective Crowdstrike Update to Microsoft Windows An issue with a commonly used security software called Crowdstrike shuttered large technology systems around the globe, including airlines, transit systems and stock exchanges Alan Woodward; The Conversation US

How SpaceX Will Turn a Workhorse Vehicle into a Hulking Destroyer of Space Stations SpaceX will supercharge its Dragon capsule to send the International Space Station to a watery retirement Meghan Bartels

What to Know about Project 2025's Dangers to Science Project 2025 would jeopardize federal scientists' independence and undermine their influence Ben Guarino; Andrea Thompson; Tanya Lewis; Lauren J. Young

Boiling Macaroni in Space? You'll Need a Weirdly Shaped Pot Astronauts still survive on freeze-dried meals. Could better food, aided by cooking gadgets designed to be used in microgravity, help them to thrive? Andrew Chapman

ChatGPT Isn't 'Hallucinating'—It's Bullshitting! It's important that we use accurate terminology when discussing how AI chatbots make up information Joe Slater, expert writer; James Humphries, expert writer; Michael Townsen Hicks, expert writer

Blasting Virtual Aliens Could Help Dyslexic Kids Parse Words Children at risk of dyslexia who played Space Invaders Extreme 2 showed improvement at a word-identification task Riis Williams, intern writer

Massive CrowdStrike Tech Outage Highlights Global Vulnerabilities Companies and governments alike need to step up cybersecurity practices in the wake of massive technology failures associated with a CrowdStrike update Richard Forno; The Conversation US

Paris Olympics Will Be a Training Ground for AI-Powered Mass Surveillance In the run-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics, the French government has authorized wide-reaching use of AI software in security surveillance feeds Anne Toomey McKenna; The Conversation US

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