Also worthy of note is some of the later work of Puthoff and Targ, attempting to enhance the accuracy and reliability of RV by using different error-correcting techniques (i.e., majority vote and Associational Remote Viewing).

The STARGATE project continued well into the 1990s, under the direction of physicist Edwin May, first at SRI and then at SAIC (Science Applications International Corp.). Extending earlier work of Puthoff and Targ, May and his colleagues conducted a number of studies exploring the potential of RV for intelligence-gathering, while also attempting to understand some of its underlying mechanisms.

Working with a small, select group of "expert" remote viewers, the SRI/SAIC researchers continued to produce some very striking examples of the applied potential of remote viewing, while also exploring certain fundamental questions about the nature of this skill.

In its totality, the STARGATE work provides some of the most solid evidence for psi to date - as can be witnessed by the recently declassified documents. Nevertheless, an agency contracted by the CIA to evaluate the 24-year program (American Institutes for Research or AIR) managed to give a mixed review, with a positive assessment by statistician Jessica Utts, a negative one by psychologist Ray Hyman, and an overall recommendation by the AIR staff to terminate the STARGATE program.

Although accepting that a significant effect had been shown under scientifically rigorous conditions, the AIR report suggests that there is no need to accept the reality of RV, and that, in any event, its pragmatic utility for intelligence-gathering had not been demonstrated. Following this, Edwin May made several public appearances strongly challenging the objectivity of the AIR, and questioning the true motives driving its report.

An article by May, detailing some of the more objectionable aspects of this affair, has appeared in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, along with articles by SRI researchers Hal Puthoff and Russell Targ and AIR consultants Jessica Utts and Ray Hyman.

For more detailed information on Stargate, go to Cognitive Sciences Laboratory website.
 

Further Reading

• The American Institutes for Research Review of the Department of Defense's STAR GATE Program: A Commentary by Edwin May

• May, E. C., Utts, J. M., Humphrey, B. S., Luke, W. L. W., Frivold, T. J., and Trask, V. V. (1990). Advances in Remote-Viewing Analysis. Journal of Parapsychology, 54, 193-228.

• May, E. C. and Vilenskaya, L. (1992). Overview of Current Parapsychology Research in the Former Soviet Union. Subtle Energies, 3, No. 3, 45-67.

• May, E. C., Spottiswoode, S. J. P., and James, C. L. (1994). Managing the Target-Pool Bandwidth: Possible Noise Reduction for Anomalous Cognition Experiments. Journal of Parapsychology, 58, 303-313.

• May, E. C., Spottiswoode, S. J. P. and James, C. L. (1994). Shannon Entropy: A Possible Intrinsic Target Property. Journal of Parapsychology, 58, 384-401.