Extraterrestrial First Contact: What Are They?

The media is buzzing with expectation over the US Department of Defense report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). It’s due in June, however several sources have said it could be delayed.

UAP are the military rebrand for UFOs. And the need for a new name is completely understandable. Humans have twisted the UFO concept in so many directions in the last few decades that it’s hard to take seriously. I have said before and will state again- I don’t believe that UAP are necessarily activity organized by an extraterrestrial intelligence. My reasoning is simple- no one has provided evidence of such. When there is evidence, I will revise my thinking. The recent UAP military leaks have been quite interesting, perhaps the most intriguing UFO reports yet. But UAP could also be Russian drones or advanced Chinese aircraft. And quite frankly- that’s what the military is most concerned about.

But what if the speculation about alien visitors turns out to be correct? What would we have to consider? I’ve been exploring those issues on the blog this month. Today, I want to look at the biggest question of all – if there is alien activity here on Earth- who are they? It’s pure speculation and there has been plenty of that put forth. So, I want to ask a more specific question: what are they?

Interstellar travel is not easy. There are vast distances between stars and galaxies. With our current understanding of physics, it would take an alien intelligence thousands of years to travel to Earth, even if they were from a relatively close star system and could travel at speeds much faster than our current science can support. It’s also a pain in the ass for biological beings to travel through space. Humans are planning for a manned mission to Mars- in our celestial backyard compared to interstellar travel. And yet considerations of cosmic radiation, space debris, oxygen, food, and water will make the manned Mars effort quite challenging. So, imagine what it would take for biological beings to travel light years?

So, this is my first proposal: If extraterrestrial intelligence has visited Earth or our solar system, it is likely to be in the form of an advanced probe, not controlled by on-board biological beings.

I agree with the astrophysicists who propose that any extraterrestrial intelligence we meet someday is likely to be controlled by some level of artificial intelligence and without any biological beings on board.

Why? It’s much easier. We already have human spacecraft traveling outside of our solar system. We’re using rovers to explore Mars, as we speak. It seems likely that if we decide to visit a nearby star in some future exploratory effort, we will send probes first. And who knows- maybe that is all we do? Maybe it’s all an alien civilization has done- send unpiloted probes out into the universe to explore?

Unpiloted alien drones would certainly help to explain the wild aeronautical maneuvers some pilots have reported with UAP. It’s tough to move biological beings around in advanced maneuvers due to the impact of G-forces to our bodies.

Such actions would not be an issue for a mechanical drone. The other question is why alien drone would be lit up and dancing around for fighter pilots to witness? The only reason to light up your aerial vehicle is to attract attention. Humans do it to prevent aircraft from running into each other. Perhaps an alien drone is lit up to prevent human aircraft from running into it? Or ETI could be trying to attract attention for some other reason- perhaps to prepare humans for revelation of their presence?

My second proposal: Such probes would have some level of operational intelligence. That could be powered by advanced programming. It is what we are doing on Mars with the Perseverance Rover. It is controlled from Earth, but only at times. There are times when it can act autonomously, such as picking out a target to study. It also needs to do complex activities while having no communication with Earth. That happened during landing and initial start-up sequences. That’s our best technology for a space probe in 2021. What will we be able to do in 2027? Or 2050?

Let’s then take the next leap- what would an advanced extraterrestrial civilization be capable of? The consideration of an advanced alien probe here on Earth becomes a little less crazy when you think of it that way. It could be a programmed probe. However, given the massive distances that commands would need to travel from another star system that also seems unlikely. With our current science, such messages would make many years. It seems more likely such a probe would have some degree of artificial intelligence.

My third proposal: An alien probe here on Earth, controlled by artificial intelligence, could be described in one of two ways- Smart or Sentient. Smart AI could have the capabilities to carry out all sorts of research activity on its own. Sentient AI would go a step further- it would have agency in decision making. What that means is a hotly contested subject here on Earth. I take it to mean the AI would be able to respond to advanced challenges, make changes to its mission based on local needs, and make original decisions, beyond programming, all with some type of self-awareness.

That’s about as far as I want to go with this speculation. There could be many reasons for why such probes would be on Earth, some better for human society than others. The amount of contact they have had with humans and how long they have been operating on Earth are other obvious questions.

I don’t think the upcoming DOD UAP report will discuss any of this. It is most likely going to raise more questions than provide answers. It could, however, be the catalyst for the military to investigate UAP with a proactive search using advanced technology.

And let me say one final thing on the issue of UAP. If some of the UFO reports turn out to truly be the activity of extraterrestrial intelligence it doesn’t mean that all UFO reports and allegations are true. Humans have tied such considerations into exaggeration, myth, and storytelling for decades. UFO encounters are also a common sign of psychological problems. And on the flip side- abduction reports could be true. It would be an important question if First Contact does occur here in our solar system someday. If we do find evidence of alien visitation, let’s react calmly and sort out the situation strategically.

My primary focus for this blog is what could happen if humans do make First Contact in the future. I examine those issues in my new book “The Extraterrestrial Big Hello: A Guide for What to do When the Aliens Introduce Themselves.” It is available on Amazon worldwide.