In April, SRI International announced it will be taking over the management of the Allen Telescope Array, whose primary purpose is listening for signals from extraterrestrial civilizations. The array was built by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute (SETI) and the University of California, with the majority of funding coming from its namesake, computer magnate, Paul Allen. SRI is no stranger to controversial projects. In the late '70s SRI developed a method of psychic spying called "Remote Viewing," which quickly caught the attention of the CIA, and eventually culminated into a formal project ran by U.S. Army intelligence. Founding members of this clandestine organization claim they even used their skills to remote view UFOs and extraterrestrials.
SRI was originally the Stanford Research Institute, however, in 1970 it severed its ties with Stanford to become an independent non-profit organization and settled on the name SRI International in 1977. Founded in 1946, SRI is a research institute responsible for many important inventions including the computer mouse you are using to scroll through this story right now.
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