Three major SETI developments from 2025-2026: (1) SPACE WEATHER MASKING SIGNALS (March 2026): Dr. Vishal Gajjar (SETI Institute) found that stellar “space weather” — solar winds, plasma turbulence, and coronal mass ejections near a transmitting civilization’s star — can broaden and weaken ultra-narrowband radio signals in transit, spreading their power across frequencies and pushing them below detection thresholds. For decades SETI searched for spikes in frequency that would be impossible naturally. This research suggests we may have been looking at thousands of broadened signals without recognizing them. The team used spacecraft signals within our own solar system to calibrate how plasma broadens narrowband signals across different stellar environments. (2) AI BREAKTHROUGH (November 2025): Dr. Andrew Siemion (Breakthrough Listen, SETI Institute) unveiled an AI system that processes SETI data 600 times faster, is 7% more accurate, and reduces false positives by nearly a factor of 10 compared to existing pipelines. “An advanced civilization might use burst-like or modulated transmissions that we haven’t even imagined. This AI system can learn to recognize patterns that humans might overlook entirely.” (3) NASA TECHNOSIGNATURES SAG (2024–2026): NASA formally chartered a Science Advisory Group led by Dr. Sofia Sheikh to advise the Exoplanet Exploration Program on integrating technosignature search into planetary science missions. This is the first formal government mechanism to treat SETI as part of NASA’s scientific portfolio alongside astrobiology. The SETI Institute has been operating since 1984 and runs the Allen Telescope Array at Hat Creek, California.