Extraterrestrial Contact: Discovery and Response

I’ve been discussing recently possible scenarios for First Contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. It’s a wide-ranging discussion, since it could happen in many different ways, if it ever happens at all. That may sound like the end of the story. But in reality First Contact itself just leads to a bigger question: what happens next? The response to First Contact could perhaps be more important than the discovery. The response will have a large role in determining our future as a civilization.

Most scientists work on the discovery and rightly so; it is undoubtedly the first step. However, the danger lies in the response. If we don’t have a road map to move forward after First Contact we could make knee-jerk decisions and those decisions could be harmful in both the short-term and long-term. First Contact would bring about many challenges across a wide-range of human institutions and endeavors.

It would be impossible to project a plan of response going very far into the future, primarily because much of our response would be determined by the nature of the extraterrestrial civilization, their intentions, the type of First Contact, the degree of impact and the areas of impact. First Contact could simply be a mysterious engineered signal that takes us dozens of years to understand. Or First Contact could be easily understandable and high-information in content, providing many new ideas and many challenges resulting from those new ideas. First Contact could be indirect, as in a long-term conversation across space. First Contact could also be direct, with many immediacy issues, such as threat and diplomacy.

With so many questions it’s easy to suggest that we put aside these considerations and focus on the discovery. I recognize that from a physical sciences perspective that makes sense. However, I believe there is value from a social science perspective in trying to better understand how humans perceive First Contact. That information can help us prepare some initial steps in our response to First Contact. There are many questions unanswered, even in those very first steps. What body should speak for planet Earth? Who should decide what we would say to an extraterrestrial civilization? How can we ensure that all humans are represented in that process? Should there even be representation or should it be controlled by experts in science or government? If researchers in one country make a discovery should it be shared with the world? Should decisions be made in secrecy or should the process be out in the open for all to see?

If you have been reading this blog for very long you can already predict my answers to those questions. I firmly believe that the response to First Contact needs to be determined by a body that represents all of the nations on the planet. All humans have a right to be represented in the process. I don’t think that scientists and government officials should be allowed to work in a vacuum or in secrecy after a signal is confirmed. We need an immediate response by an assigned body with, at the very least, an outline of what parts of that body should be involved in the response. I am speaking of the United Nations. It’s the only world body that represents the great majority of nations on Earth. I think the United Nations needs to have an outline for the first steps after the discovery of a signal. Those steps need to provide for a number of possible scenarios, ranging from the discovery of a mysterious engineered signal, all the way up to Direct First Contact here in our solar system. The U.N. needs to assign specific parts of its organization to the task of response and have a clearly defined decision making process. This needs to include input from the General Assembly along with some organized form of conversation and debate. Each of these steps needs to be completely transparent and open to all humans. There needs to be a mechanism to ensure that the process moves forward, even if the debate is extreme. It is unlikely that everyone will agree to any First Contact response process. Still, decisions will have to be made and humans will need to be able to react quickly, if necessary. The immediacy of the First Contact scenario will be the primary factor in this consideration. The discovery of a mysterious engineered signal could give us years to debate a response plan. Direct First Contact would require an immediate plan.

What we need is a vision for our future After First Contact. We would be entering into a new era of human history. We can either leap into an unknown abyss or take steps down a rough path of our own design. It’s our choice. The decisions need to be made now.

Extraterrestrial Contact: The Most Likely Scenario

For the last few weeks I have been discussing ideas I have for a dramatic and direct extraterrestrial First Contact event. While I enjoy considering such things I don’t think it’s the most likely form of First Contact, if it ever occurs at all.

SETI is the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. It is a scientific effort that involves listening to radio frequencies for signals from outer space and then processing and evaluating the data through computer programs. The goal is to find an engineered signal. Along the way many false signals must be examined and then weeded out. Thus far the effort has not yielded evidence of an engineered signal. However, only a small portion of space has been examined. Efforts today tend to concentrate on star systems where it is more likely that life-sustaining planets may exist. SETI is primarily based in radio astronomy; however it was also moved into a discussion of visual and particle transmissions that might be used by alien civilizations.

I’m a big supporter of the SETI scientific community. It is the only science based method that we have for approaching this huge question. It is conducted by astrophysicists and other scientists who have made the decision to stake their careers in a fringe outpost of the scientific world. Through their dedication and credentials, they have slowly moved the SETI effort closer to the mainstream of science and promoted a larger conversation about issues of extraterrestrial intelligence. They do this at professional risk and with a great deal of personal sacrifice. I applaud them for their efforts.

The primary group leading this effort is the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. Jill Tarter, Seth Shostack, Douglas Vakoch and the other SETI Institute scientists lead the movement to a better understanding of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and perhaps just as important, they have been active, vocal advocates for exploring the human response to extraterrestrial intelligence contact issues. They continually base their discussions in the scientific method. This has provided a measure of respectability to the field that didn’t exist a few decades ago.

The International Astronomical Union has also been on the forefront of SETI consideration. The journal Acta Astronautica regularly publishes research papers related to extraterrestrial intelligence. The Royal Society of Great Britain has contributed much with entire journal issues dedicated to the issue and numerous conferences about ETI.

There have been many pioneers who have made this current conversation regarding extraterrestrial contact possible. Frank Drake and those creative astrophysicists, who met in Green Bank, West Virginia in 1961 to discuss the first search effort, set the path forward. Carl Sagan brought the ideas to the general public. Scientists like Paul Davies continue to explore the possibilities with the world.

My blog explores a relatively narrow slice of this conversation, one that the scientists don’t normally have time to consider. They don’t consider it much because it is based almost purely in speculation and science is founded in process and the discovery of fact. I accept that and understand the concern that my blog might raise with them. Still, I encourage you to support the SETI scientific effort and the amazing work being done by scientists worldwide in a number of space exploration fields. The NASA Kepler Mission is literally changing our understanding of the universe on a weekly basis with the discovery of new planets. We must support this scientific effort by letting our lawmakers know that this is important work and an effort that needs to be well funded. The SETI Institute was forced to seek private funding some time ago and you can help them directly. Please do as I have done and donate to the cause. Individual contributions recently brought the Allen Telescope Array back online and that re-started the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

There are unlikely to be clear and decisive answers to the question of whether we are alone in the universe. The discovery of an engineered signal from far-off in space will likely generate great debate and years of scientific investigation, all of which will occur in the usual human fashion of conflict and debate. Hopefully, this will eventually lead to some degree of understanding. In any event, there is much hard work to be done and any support we can give the scientists involved in such efforts would probably be appreciated.

Extraterrestrial Contact: Shock Value

Last week I reiterated my argument that a direct and dramatic First Contact event might be a good way to introduce an extraterrestrial civilization to the people of planet Earth. I suggested that if extraterrestrials were to fly a spacecraft into Earth atmosphere and fly it above a mid-sized American city, they could engage the world news media directly, bypassing governments and other institutions that might seek to control such a message. There is another reason that such a method might be helpful to visiting extraterrestrials: shock value.

Shock is not always a bad thing. It can provide a period of time in which humans are stunned and do not react in their usual fashion. Why is this beneficial? Well, think of our usual human reactions to global events: self-interest, fear, greed, hegemony and protectionism. Now granted, that’s not the case in major natural disasters, and I think those responses are important for this argument. In a great international crisis we often manage to suspend our conflicts to some degree in order to react to help the effected nation. I think a dramatic and direct First Contact event of the type I have described would create an international crisis of sorts. If managed properly to minimize fear and protectionism, there would be value in the initial period when people are stunned. This period would allow the alien visitors to get a message of introduction to all humans. It provides the opportunity to engage the institutions that would be most beneficial for a positive long-term diplomatic effort. I suggest the United Nations, as it is the world body that represents the most individual nations and that has a framework to support such efforts.

Shock requires people and institutions to react differently at first than they normally might. There has never been any situation close to such an event in human history. There is no established protocol. Previous experience would not apply. It would force people to think, pardon the cliché, out of the box. Now, I don’t think this period of being stunned would last for long, perhaps just a few days or a couple of weeks. Eventually, humans would return to their usual positions and begin to react in the ways they have in the past. This means that much work needs to be done in the stunned period. An entire process for introduction and diplomacy would need to be established and established quickly.

There are, of course, many dangers in shock. The primary concern would probably be the military reaction. Shock could cause the military to respond with force and the result could be disastrous. I think there is something helpful in how we have formulated our reaction to terrorism here in the United States. There have been several circumstances of aircraft doing things considered threatening in the last ten years. In every circumstance the responding fighter pilots have reacted with thoughtful caution. These pilots are trained to evaluate threat in a calm and collected manner. If an alien ship moved in a way to lower the threat perception, a hostile response by humans could be prevented. It would also be important to start a message of introduction as quickly as possible, to provide information and decrease uncertainty.

The other danger of shock comes in our financial system. Such an event would cause extreme uncertainty in the world markets. The markets do not like uncertainty. The stunned period could extend to the markets at first, but that would likely change quickly as people began to consider the financial risk posed by First Contact and tried to engage the financial opportunities that such a revelation would create. Luckily, the past few years have brought a better understanding of the interconnectedness of the global financial system and strengthened institutional control over crisis reactions. We are in a much better position today to provide some degree of global financial security in the event of such a dramatic event.

I know, many of you may think I am off the deep end by discussing such things. Sorry, I enjoy considering this line of thought. I don’t think that First Contact with humans has occurred and I doubt it will occur for many, many more years. However, I do think First Contact with an extraterrestrial civilization will happen eventually and a discussion now could help set the table for a reasonable and positive human response in the future. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Extraterrestrial Contact: Dramatic and Direct

It’s a classic Hollywood plot line: aliens arrive on Earth in a spacecraft to make an introduction. It’s a cliché and as such I think we dismiss the benefits of such an introduction. I think there is great value in a Direct First Contact event and a dramatic one at that.

This blog stakes out some relatively open territory in the conversation regarding human First Contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. I don’t believe we have made First Contact yet. I don’t believe there is evidence of UFOs being anything but natural phenomenon and misunderstood man-made occurrences. I don’t think that a Direct First Contact event, with aliens arriving on Earth, is very likely. However, I do like to speculate about what might realistically happen if Direct First Contact ever does occur and discuss the process we might need to employ to make First Contact a positive experience, or at least as positive as possible.

My suggested scenario is this: pilot a spacecraft into Earth atmosphere and have it appear above a mid-sized American city. This method of First Contact would set into motion forces that would be hard for anyone to stop. Why an American city? The answer is the news media. The American television news media has the technology and interconnectedness to start a news coverage wave that would spread internationally in a very short time. Thus, enterprising aliens could make an introduction to the world, bypassing governments, scientific agencies and others who might seek to control such an introduction. There is immediate transparency and a method for disseminating an unfiltered message to all humans at once.  The visual event of a spacecraft in Earth atmosphere is important because it allows the news media to control the story, not relying on scientific and possibly governmental involvement, as a transmission from space might. It also has an advantage in that it is something we have seen dozens of times in the movies. Now, many of those movies don’t feature a very positive portrayal of alien intentions, so those hopefully good intentions would have to be relayed immediately and it would be important to show no threat in the dramatic event itself.

Why should space aliens give a damn? If the aliens have good intentions they would probably be concerned about human reaction. There is already plenty of paranoia and distrust to go around on this planet in our daily lives. The appearance of extraterrestrials would amp that up considerably, potentially to dangerous levels. An introduction to humans and not through the institutions of humanity would create an openness that could help the entire process. Why should extraterrestrials care about openness? Imagine the distrust and concern if an extraterrestrial civilization was to make contact with one particular nation? Global politics is a delicate balance of opportunity, risk, security and self-interest. Extraterrestrial First Contact with one nation would set off a firestorm of global political debate and could potentially harm extraterrestrial relations for many years to come. So, why not just engage the United Nations directly? Give me the practical way in which you would have the extraterrestrials approach the massive bureaucracy that is the United Nations? An initial introduction to all humans via the news media could quickly lead to a more formal introduction through the United Nations. From there a process for formal extraterrestrial relations could be established.

In short, a direct and dramatic First Contact event would allow the extraterrestrials to control the message, while providing humans the ability to control the process. Control would be an important concern in the wake of First Contact. Humans will need to feel secure in a very dynamic set of circumstances, with a high degree of uncertainty. A Direct First Contact event does nothing more than say hello, and perhaps suggest a more formal introduction to the United Nations General Assembly. This would provide a strong argument for having the United Nations lead the diplomacy effort, which might not be the case if First Contact was made with an individual nation.

There are plenty of reasons for why such a scenario might not work. Without some sort of stealth technology an extraterrestrial craft would be quickly picked up by various near Earth orbit surveillance systems, let along U.S. military radar. The aliens could be concerned about their safety. They might not have a big, dramatic looking spacecraft. They might not be able to fly a spacecraft in Earth atmosphere. They might feel that entering Earth atmosphere without an invitation would be threatening. All are understandable worries. Hopefully, extraterrestrials advanced enough in technology to visit our solar system would be able to ensure their own safety and fly a craft in Earth atmosphere. As far as the invitation goes, quite frankly I think this is the scenario that humans have come to expect in Direct First Contact.

So, there it is. I think there is value in silly speculation of this sort. The speculation allows us to explore many scenarios about how Direct First Contact might actually be accomplished. It seems to me the scenarios that matter the most are the ones that might actually work and those that will have the best possibility for a relatively positive outcome.

Extraterrestrial Contact: Do We Believe Them?

Part of the problem with speculation about extraterrestrial contact is that we often tend to gloss over the details, which is understandable, considering that the details could turn out in a million different ways. Speculation is always suspect if it has no basis in fact. There is no evidence regarding extraterrestrials, so we have no fact for foundation.

So, why am I wasting my time?

I believe that there is one thing we can discuss that has relevance: the process of extraterrestrial contact. Now granted, to even begin this discussion we will have to make a few assumptions, to narrow the playing field so to speak. Let’s confine our thinking to high-information First Contact, that is, First Contact that involves humans receiving a great deal of information from an extraterrestrial source. It could be a signal sent to us from a far-off planet. It could be information provided to us in a Direct First Contact scenario closer to home. There is one part of the process that I think would be essential in any response to high-information First Contact. We would need to employ critical thinking at every step.

Here’s a scenario to show what I mean. Humans receive a transmission from another world. In the transmission the sender/senders describe their world, their culture, their science and how they perceive the universe. Well, that would be one hell of a long transmission. But let’s say those are the highlights. What do we do with that information? Unfortunately, I think it depends on who receives the information here on Earth and how it is disseminated. If the transmission is easily translated or perhaps written in a human language (both unlikely, granted) the entire transmission could just be released publicly. Then everyone could be involved in the discovery process. Very exciting. But there is one clear danger: not everyone on the planet employs critical thinking. Unfortunately, it’s much easier to believe what we are told. And if the source is an extraterrestrial, then who are we to question what they say? Scientists and other academics would likely be skeptical. They would probably ask a series of questions. Who is this information coming from? Is it from one source, from one particular culture of this extraterrestrial civilization? Is this information the product of a much larger process involving many facets of the extraterrestrial civilization? Are there other extraterrestrial civilizations that might have a differing view of things? What is the agenda of the authors? What are they hoping to accomplish by releasing the information to us? Could there be a hidden agenda that we are not aware of?  Human scientists would probably add another set of questions: what empirical evidence do you have to show that the universe operates in the way you describe?

These questions would get quite complicated. Depending on the method of transmission a reply could take decades, if not longer. In the meantime, how does the public react? If provided the information wholesale, there could be dangers in misinterpretation. People could seize on particular parts of the transmission to support a political or religious view that they have. There would, needless to say, be tremendous debate and discussion. All of that could be beneficial, but only if we have some organized process to help lead the discussion. Such a scenario would be the first time that humans had encountered a great deal of information at one time. The entire planet would need to employ critical thinking in a sense, and of course with critical thinking being a hard process, many would choose not to do so or quickly jump to conclusions based on their way of thinking about the universe. We’ve discussed that the lack of information often causes humans to fill in the gaps with their own particular perspective. I think that massive amounts of extraterrestrial information could have the same effect.

So, the other option would be for scientists to keep the transmission from the public at first, and then have an organized process of scientific discussion. The subsequent information could then be released, bit by bit, with thoughtful and educated analysis. There would certainly be a fist-fight over who would get to be employed in such a remarkable and important role. It would have to be an international group with solid academic credentials and an emphasis on impartiality. Someone would need to make the decision over who would be included in that group. But embargoing the information to the public could cause another reaction: distrust. Fringe groups, and even those in the mainstream, could find such an embargo threatening. Such concerns could lead to speculation about conspiracies. Some would ask: who is controlling such important information and for what purposes? What is being kept from us?

I think the only solution in a high-information First Contact situation is complete transparency and openness, combined with an active and high-profile process of critical thinking lead by key academics. This process would need to be broadcast to the world, so that the resulting conversation would become as equally important as the information from the transmission itself. Will it be an ugly, tumultuous process full of heated debate? Of course. With humans, such global discussions are always interesting. It will be a necessary process though, and we might find that after many years of discussion, what we think of the alien transmission has changed to some extent. The more questions we ask, the more questions will be raised. Hopefully, at some point we could ask those questions of our new extraterrestrial pen pals and get a thoughtful response. In the end, the process we use to disseminate and discuss the information would be almost as important as the information itself. The great thing about process is that it is something we can consider now, before we ever receive extraterrestrial information.

First Contact may never happen and there are those who say, why waste your time thinking about it? First Contact of any type would fundamentally change human civilization and in a high-information First Contact situation that change could be quite dramatic. Doesn’t that make it worth discussing now? Let’s just take a tiny fraction of the time we spend discussing celebrity foibles and apply that energy and effort to the consideration of First Contact. If we’re going to waste our time, let’s waste it on something important.

Extraterrestrial Contact: Human Reaction

There’s a big difference between speculation and science. Much of this blog is speculation, the fiction side of science fiction. The science of SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, is founded in physics. However, there is another type of science that is also important in SETI consideration, the social science of human perception and behavior. Psychologist Douglas Vakoch leads this mission in his role as social scientist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. Social scientists considering issues of First Contact are a small group. While some like to argue that all considerations of the impact of First Contact on the human civilization are speculative, there is one realm that can be researched in a scientific method: current human perception. If we know what humans think of extraterrestrial First Contact now, we can better discuss how institutions might need to prepare for First Contact in the future.

Vakoch published an important paper in Acta Astronautica in 2000 with Chinese researcher Y.S. Lee. In a nutshell, the paper explores the idea that human reactions to the prospect of First Contact are complicated, with at times divergent or contradictory responses. The basic question put forth is whether human reaction can be plotted as a continuum or should rather be thought of as a series of interrelated reactions. Also, do humans project their own attributes to extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) when considering whether First Contact would likely be positive or negative?

The survey study was conducted with two similar and dissimilar groups: college students in Hong Kong, China and Nashville, Tennessee. The obvious flaw can be noticed immediately. College students, by their very position, are likely to be better educated than the majority of humans. The authors acknowledge as much in the discussion. However, the choice of Americans and Chinese is quite important. It shows that different cultures may view First Contact differently. It also chooses two nationalities that would be highly influential in any First Contact response by humans and nations that could conflict in such a situation.

The authors explore attitudes and opinions in four domains with their subjects: dispositional optimism, anthropocentrism, religiosity and alienation. They use statements to assess current beliefs, utilizing a variety of scales for measurement. They presented the students with a series of questions and a hypothetical scenario, involving humans receiving an ETI message from space.

Most interesting in the results was that Americans were more likely to have expectations of ETI benevolence or malevolence as a simple either-or proposition. Chinese students however were shown to have a more complicated perspective, often considering that ETI could be both benevolent and malevolent.

Religious beliefs also had a big impact on perception. Not surprisingly, the students who considered themselves to be more religious were less likely to believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life. Religious Americans in the study were also more likely to view proven ETI as most likely hostile or untrustworthy. The Chinese students who fell into the alienated end of a scale (considering alienation and optimism as the poles) were more likely to believe that there would be religious significance in First Contact, in that humans could probably learn a lot from the religious teachings of ETI. The authors say this shows the Chinese students more likely to look to ETI for a sense of meaning.

The study also shows that those with strong religious beliefs could be more likely to have a negative reaction to First Contact. The discovery of ETI would pose significant challenges for anthropocentric individuals. These are reactions that some of use might expect from such a situation. However, this study takes the idea beyond speculation and provides some meaningful data to consider.

As for the issue of projecting ones personality on the concept of First Contact, the researchers say their results show that in the absence of information individuals will react in ways that more represent who they are and how they think, than the reality of the situation. If an ETI signal is ever discovered, deciphering the signal may be a difficult and time-consuming proposition. There will likely be an information “vacuum” of sorts that could last for some time.

Why should you give a damn about an 11 year-old research study? Human reaction to First Contact would be tremendously important. The public reaction would likely influence the response of world leaders and the institutions they represent. Those responses would decide the future of human-extraterrestrial relations. By studying our current human perceptions we can better prepare those institutions for the reaction to First Contact. And if the unlikely event ever does occur, such research could provide an important road map to help us plot a course for human response and the development of extraterrestrial relations. We have a choice in our response to First Contact. We can make hasty, knee-jerk decisions or we can utilize the findings of dedicated social science researchers to help us make intelligent and informed decisions.

Extraterrestrial Contact: Thinking Like Them

The consideration of extraterrestrial contact is pure speculation. There is no evidence that extraterrestrial life exists in any form. I believe this will change quite soon thanks to dedicated researchers and exciting new space missions. Perhaps someday we will even discover extraterrestrial intelligence. Still, there is always the possibility that there is an extraterrestrial civilization out there and they are going to beat us to the punch, saying hello before we can find them ourselves. It’s an outlier, I know, and yet I believe it deserves a bit of thought.

Part of that thought involves viewing things from their perspective. How can we think like them if we have no idea who we might be talking about? The alien perspective would be entirely driven by who they are: their biology, senses, intelligence, technology and civilization. We have no idea what those details might entail. There is one factor that we can speculate about: not being us. One thing that we could probably assume from extraterrestrial contact is that they will not be us. This seems a bit obvious, but there is something that can be gained from this line of thinking. How would someone view humans from the perspective of the visitor? If we can put aside our cultural and geographical bias we can try to take on an extraterrestrial perspective.

The first things they would probably study would be the physical make-up of our planet, the biological life forms on the planet, human biology and probably human psychology. Our civilization might be next. I think the first thing they might notice are the ways in which we are joined globally and ways in which we remain apart. Our system of nations would be one of the first things an outsider might notice when researching human civilization. Our cultural and religious differences would also be quite obvious as having a big impact on our civilization. Just these three categories drive much of human interaction with both positive and negative results. Technology would certainly be top of mind for a visitor. They would have to be at a higher level in technology than us to research our planet in the first place. They would most likely have great interest in our scientific systems and technological achievements. These elements alone could keep alien researchers busy for years.

Needless to say that alien considerations of all of these topics would be based on their perspective, however I believe that by taking a wider perspective, we could start to develop a plan of action to better respond to high-information First Contact, if it ever occurs. This is only an issue for us in the event that they decide to say hello. Let me point out that this type of high-information, high-interaction First Contact is the least likely form of contact. It is however the particular sliver of the conversation that this blog tends to examine.

An alien civilization with advanced technology could probably study us for decades without us ever knowing. They would always be one step ahead of us in terms of making sure our technology could not detect the probe or whatever means they used to conduct their study. At this point almost everything an extraterrestrial civilization would need is available on the Internet. A secret connection to the Internet, with a hidden form of transmission would probably not be tough for an alien scientist to set up and monitor.

So, what can we gain from thinking like an alien? It can help us answer some of the basic questions of First Contact. What do they expect from us? What would they perceive as our strengths and weaknesses? What concerns would they have in how we might react?

On the other side, there are questions we can consider. How can we organize to take advantage of First Contact? What are some of our weaknesses and our strengths in a First Contact situation? What would we need to do to respond to high-information, high-interaction First Contact? How could we protect our civilization and cultures in the wake of First Contact?

Some researchers, among them Albert Harrison, Allen Tough, Douglas Vakoch and Michael Michaud, have attempted to answer some of these questions. By taking on an extraterrestrial perspective, we aren’t really thinking like an extraterrestrial, we are merely viewing our world from an outsiders view. We have many advantages in this study. We know human society better than anyone else. We can ask questions about the human reaction and come up with ideas, based purely on what we already know about ourselves. There’s advantage in doing such. If high-information First Contact ever does occur it will be our only roadmap moving forward. Truly it is just a trace of a path through a dense and complicated jungle. But it’s better than nothing.