Extraterrestrial Contact: The Checklist

The popular media, and in many respects the popular imagination, likes to portray aliens as either positive or negative. The beneficent extraterrestrials want to save us and the malevolent ones want to hurt us. Needless to say, the negative portrayals are much more frequent. Angry aliens can blow stuff up and Hollywood loves to blow stuff up.

There is another possibility in extraterrestrial First Contact: aliens that don’t act like humans. I know this is a shocking suggestion, but it seems likely any aliens we meet won’t behave like humans at all. They will behave like aliens. That’s not as much fun for us to portray because that type of speculation can get really complicated. For the most part the complicated considerations are left to the science fiction writers, science fiction fans and SETI scientists.

If an extraterrestrial civilization has the ability to travel the stars it seems likely they will have some sort of science, a framework for how they build knowledge. That logical approach (their logic, not ours) could lead to another motivation for aliens to say hello to humans: benchmarks. Let’s say that an alien civilization has been studying us for some time (and I’m not saying this is the case, it’s a scenario folks). They watch our development and wait until we meet certain criteria. Call it a checklist, if you will. I call them benchmarks because they could be a set of technological or sociological measures. Why would they care about our society and technology? It could be the point when they regularly decide that contact should be made with an up and coming civilization. It could be a point where our society is ready to handle the challenges of First Contact. It might be a situation where they decide we are on the brink of discovering the truth of extraterrestrial intelligence ourselves, through astronomy and other sciences. It could be something we have never even considered, something important to them and obscure to us.

So, they run down the checklist and we reach the benchmarks and they decide to say hello. What does that say about them? The answer could in many respects be more unnerving than the good or bad aliens. How about the dispassionate, logical aliens? Think of Spock in Star Trek but ramped up several levels. Perhaps they are actually machine intelligence and over the course of evolution they have lost the emotions that we might recognize. That truth would be troubling to us because we would have a hard time feeling connected to such beings. Whether you love them or hate them the good and bad aliens are forms that we can understand. There are plenty of good humans and far too many bad humans. And, of course, the essence of humanity means that every one of us has plenty of good and evil wrapped up inside. Purely logical aliens would be hard to warm up to, one way or another. And if they’re machine based there will be plenty of suspicion based on that characteristic. We have decades of popular fiction dedicated to the notion of our machines taking over the Earth. Would we be able to conceive of machine intelligence as having “being”? I suppose that might depend on how they communicate with us. If they have studied us well, they would want to do their best to communicate in a way that we would understand and also in a way that we would be comfortable. It could be as simple as adopting our colloquial language style and paying attention to sociology. If the aliens are bright enough to travel the stars it seems likely they could come up with a solid public relations campaign.

I think the dispassionate aliens are the most likely scenario if they do travel the stars. Human emotions can be debilitating for both individuals and society as a whole. Emotions may drive us in the survival stage of existence, but with the advent of technology emotions can prove dangerous, not just on a local level, but on a global level. Humans 200 years ago could get mad and perhaps kill 100,000 in a horrible, long-lasting war. Today war can end human civilization and destroy the planet in a matter of hours.

Have we reached the benchmarks and are there aliens out there ready to say hello? Who knows? They could just as easily be too busy with their own matters to even care.

Extraterrestrial Contact: Localism, Individualism and a Global Society

Extraterrestrial First Contact would most certainly change our human perspective. It would take our thinking to a universal level. It may also hasten the formation of a true global society for humans: one people, on one planet, in a galactic sea of life. This will worry many. They will fear the global society becoming Big Brother as imagined by George Orwell: a crushing bureaucracy of intrusive government. It’s a reasonable concern. Does the rise of a global society mean massive world government? Even more so, does it signal the decline of the local community and the shrinking importance of culture? It does not seem as if we are headed in that direction, perhaps in part due to the power of Orwell’s words and the voices of so many pro-individual thinkers. Orwell didn’t live long enough to see our technology grow. Humans have entered a golden age of sorts when it comes to the individual connection to technology. The power of a Smartphone connected to the Internet is a remarkable thing. The power of a Smartphone connected to Twitter can be a revolutionary thing. It provides each user with the ability to reach the world. It’s no small matter. That ability was previously controlled by giant media interests and the government. One human can now place an idea in the virtual world and inspire an entire nation to action.

Localism is on the rise. We have reached the point in many nations where people are pushing back against the growth of mass market food, drink and culture. We are demanding choice, quality and even more importantly, local individualism. We want things made by neighbors, not people 3000 miles away. We enjoy supporting craft and we are willing to pay more for it. Sure, it’s a small, elite movement right now. Only those of us with the time and money to spend can truly reap the benefits of localism. That’s changing. There are those with a great vision who are trying to bring localism to everyone, no matter their income or social standing. It doesn’t mean a rejection of the global society, just the support and nurturing of localism in conjunction with a global society.

I think in the wake of First Contact that such nurturing of the human culture will be extremely important. Our neighbors, our community groups, our local businesses and our churches will be needed and valued more than ever. They will be the touchstones that help us reconnect to humanity, when the universe seems to be growing beyond our comprehension.

We cannot fear the global society. It will be critical for humans to come together to face the universe as one race and speak with one voice. That doesn’t mean we’ll need one massive institution. A number of closely connected institutions could be quite effective. New technology is forcing institutions to be open and honest in a way not previously seen. Either institutions will respond to those individual needs or they will be toppled. We may be entering a new era in human development, with or without First Contact. The power of the individual grows daily. We will decide how we organize our lives and how we choose to collaborate. Technology may be pulling us together, making geographical distance less of a factor in our day to day lives. However, technology also gives us the power to share the richness of culture and celebrate the things we hold dear as individuals. We can be one and we can be many. We can be a woven rug of many distinctive strands, beautiful in our difference and strong in our connection. That may sound like new age-speak now, but if high-information First Contact ever does occur, keeping that woven rug healthy and vital will become a serious challenge.

Extraterrestrial Contact: Finding Out About Us

If an extraterrestrial civilization discovered intelligent life on planet Earth and wanted to know more about our society, they would have an easy method of tapping into our collective knowledge, assuming they had the ability to put a probe into Earth orbit. The Internet provides a wealth of information and certainly in a form far more conducive to research than the electromagnetic signals that we have been sending into space for many years. Radio and television may provide a glimpse of our civilization, but it is a fleeting glimpse at best and probably a confusing one at that, given the nature of television and radio. The Internet provides all sorts of research possibilities.

So, if members of an extraterrestrial civilization were to plug-in to the Internet, what would they find from that research? Certainly, most modern topics are discussed in great detail on the Internet. The items lacking would be those documents out of print or forgotten in time. However, even Vatican library documents are now available online. The amount of original source material is increasing by the minute. If extraterrestrial researchers could bypass security codes, they could search all sorts of databases to find both original source material and follow-up works examining those materials in a new light. If they had the ability to import huge amounts of information (from our perspective) they might be able to map the human condition to such an extent that they could begin to understand our civilization in a complexity that even we might have trouble fully understanding.

I know… there’s plenty of speculation there. But go with me on this thought. If extraterrestrials did have access to most of our databases, giving them a link to published works, websites and social media, there would be two major issues. The first would be context. It’s one thing to take in vast amounts of information, it’s quite another to place it into context. One would assume that such enterprising aliens would have a clear objective for plugging-in to the Internet. They would be conducting the research to accomplish something, even if it was simply the quest for information about another civilization. To actually take action, to say hello or do something to engage humans, they would clearly need a reason to do so. That reason would likely shape the nature of their search and provide a context for their research. However, they would be missing the human context, that being the thousands and thousands of years of history and development that brought us to this point in human society. Sure, they could find plenty of articles and books about our development, but would that really provide the context of what it is to be human?

They may not even care. But if they hope to influence us somehow or find a good method for making contact, they would be very interested in that context. Human fiction could provide a way to develop context. Fiction is about feelings, needs and interactions expressed in a complex set of scenarios. If an alien researcher was to take the time to examine our stories that researcher would have a much better insight into what it is to be human.

Even then, there is one major part of knowledge that would be lacking: experiential knowledge. Experiential knowledge, needless to say, is gained through experience. Knowledge gathered on the Internet would be a priori knowledge. Writer Barry Lopez uses the distinction to delve into human experience in regards to the environment. Unless you experience nature you cannot truly understand ecosystems. Dr. Thomasina Borkman of George Mason University defines experiential knowledge as “truth based on personal experience with a phenomenon.” Aliens would certainly have their own experiential knowledge. But they would not have experiential knowledge of life on Earth, unless they had lived it.

Reading all the non-fiction and fiction available on the Internet would not teach you what a human feels when they experience everyday life. It would not provide insight into how humans might react under a particular set of circumstances. In fact, if the aliens did peruse human works of fiction in an attempt to tap-in to experiential knowledge, that writing could be quite confusing. An alien researcher would have to sort out how humans really act, versus how our fiction likes to describe us acting. Without context, how would you understand those fine shadings in fiction? Just look at horror novels. There are no vampires to be found here on Earth. However, after just a few minutes spent perusing popular fiction, you would think Earth is overrun with overwrought (and often shirtless) vampires.

In the end, alien researchers might turn to the sources known for carefully stating objective, process, results and conclusions: the scientific research paper. By sticking to peer reviewed research journals aliens could find a discernable logic in communication and most importantly a common, established form of communication. Research papers follow the same general format and provide a common context for understanding. Once you know the format of a scientific paper, you can start to categorize the information you receive, and compile it in a way that might help direct extraterrestrial contact choices.

There’s plenty that alien researchers could accomplish without experiential knowledge, but they would need to be careful about moving forward with decisions based on a priori knowledge. The human world is complex enough for us humans. One would imagine that for an extraterrestrial civilization the complications of human society could take a long time to decipher.

Extraterrestrial Contact: Are We Ready?

The popular media, and in many respects the popular imagination, likes to portray aliens as either positive or negative. The beneficent extraterrestrials want to save us and the malevolent ones want to hurt us. Needless to say, the negative portrayals are much more frequent. Angry aliens can blow stuff up and Hollywood loves to blow stuff up.

There is another possibility in extraterrestrial First Contact: aliens that don’t act like humans. I know this is a shocking suggestion, but it seems likely any aliens we meet won’t behave like humans at all. They will behave like aliens. That’s not as much fun for us to portray because that type of speculation can get really complicated. For the most part the complicated considerations are left to the science fiction writers, science fiction fans and SETI scientists.

If an extraterrestrial civilization has the ability to travel the stars it seems likely they will have some sort of science, a framework for how they build knowledge. That logical approach (their logic, not ours) could lead to another motivation for aliens to say hello to humans: benchmarks. Let’s say that an alien civilization has been studying us for some time (and I’m not saying this is the case, it’s a scenario folks). They watch our development and wait until we meet certain criteria. I call them benchmarks because they could be a set of technological or sociological measures. Why would they care about our society and technology? It could be the point when they regularly decide that contact should be made with an up and coming civilization. It could be a point where our society is ready to handle the challenges of First Contact. It might be a situation where they decide we are on the brink of discovering the truth of extraterrestrial intelligence ourselves, through astronomy and other sciences. It could be something we have never even considered, something important to them and obscure to us.

So, we reach the benchmarks and they decide to say hello. What does that say about them? The answer could in many respects be more unnerving than the good or bad aliens. How about the dispassionate, logical aliens? Think of Spock in Star Trek but ramped up several levels. Perhaps they are actually machine intelligence and over the course of evolution they have lost the emotions that we might recognize. That truth would be troubling to us because we would have a hard time feeling connected to such beings. Whether you love them or hate them the good and bad aliens are forms that we can understand. There are plenty of good humans and far too many bad humans. And, of course, the essence of humanity means that every one of us has plenty of good and evil wrapped up inside. Purely logical aliens would be hard to warm up to, one way or another. And if they’re machine based there will be plenty of suspicion based on that characteristic. We have decades of popular fiction dedicated to the notion of our machines taking over the Earth. Would we be able to conceive of machine intelligence as having “being”? I suppose that might depend on how they communicate with us. If they have studied us well, they would want to do their best to communicate in a way that we would understand and also in a way that we would be comfortable. It could be as simple as adopting our colloquial language style and paying attention to sociology. If the aliens are bright enough to travel the stars it seems likely they could come up with a solid public relations campaign.

I think the dispassionate aliens are the most likely scenario if they do travel the stars. Human emotions can be debilitating for both individuals and society as a whole. Emotions may drive us in the survival stage of existence, but with the advent of technology emotions can prove dangerous, not just on a local level, but on a global level. Humans 200 years ago could get mad and perhaps kill 100,000 in a horrible, long-lasting war. Today war can end human civilization and destroy the planet in a matter of hours.

Have we reached the benchmarks and are there aliens out there ready to say hello? Who knows? They could just as easily be too busy with their own matters to even care.

Extraterrestrial Contact: What Would Be Best?

Let’s say that an extraterrestrial civilization with space travel capabilities is out there monitoring Earth and human activity, trying to decide when it would be best to say hello. I’m not saying that is the case, it’s just a bit of speculation. If there isn’t an immediate need to say hello they would face a decision. Would it be better for humans to discover extraterrestrial intelligence in a process that would proceed slowly or quickly? There are benefits to each approach.

In the slow scenario an alien civilization would let humans do the work. The aliens would go about their business until we reached a point in technology and exploration when we discover their presence, most likely through some detectable signature of technology. A wait and see approach would allow humans to digest the idea of extraterrestrial intelligence. It would likely take many years of research to determine the nature and meaning of a signal discovered coming from far-off space. That might create enough pressure for humans to finally build a framework for responding to extraterrestrial intelligence diplomacy needs. Diplomacy doesn’t have to mean being to being contact, it can just as easily describe the formation of messages to send to a far-off extraterrestrial civilization. The time would allow humans to process the news that extraterrestrial intelligence exists in a calm and rational manner, because there is no immediate threat. At some point, the watchful extraterrestrials could then decide it’s time to say hello by sending a detectable signal with a specific message. The relationship could develop from there.

The slow method could also cause issues with human trust. A signal based approach relies on scientific groups and probably governmental leaders to do the work. How much transparency they choose to have in the process would probably be determined by the group of scientists making the discovery and the nature of the government of the country in which the discovery is made. Most scientists believe in the open sharing of information for the advancement of science. Any attempts by governments to control such a discovery would probably be met with leaks to the media. In some countries, with tight controls on their scientists, leaks might not occur for months or years. No matter what the scenario such information once revealed would be viewed with a fair amount of suspicion from others on the planet. Are you really telling us everything? Are you collaborating with aliens to gain some form of advantage? It could set countries against one another and that could lead to serious conflicts.

In a fast scenario the extraterrestrials could send representatives to our solar system. Perhaps they would still want to signal an introduction first. This would allow a brief time of consideration by humans, before the dramatic event of physical First Contact. The fast approach has the benefit of capturing the complete and total attention of the planet at once, in a way that would have far more impact than the slow method. One would imagine that aliens considering such a thing would do so for a reason. It could be that they want to see us join together as a civilization. Perhaps they are concerned about our environmental problems.

The primary downside to the fast method is threat. Any physical extraterrestrial presence in our solar system will be perceived with some degree of threat, not matter how friendly or welcoming the extraterrestrials may be. Fear and negative reactions could be the by-product of perceived threat, and if the situation is not carefully managed it could lead to chaotic situations here on Earth.

On the positive side, a dramatic and fast First Contact event could bypass all of the entanglements of the scientific process and government intervention. It could be conducted in a way that was designed to reach all of the people of Earth in an equal fashion. It could be done with great transparency and openness. This could mean less conflict between nations and an actual joining together of nations in response. From this writer’s perspective, this approach would have great advantages in the long-term human response to First Contact.

Of course, it all goes back to motivation. We can speculate all we want about extraterrestrial motivation. We won’t know until First Contact occurs, if it ever occurs at all. I think there is one thing that we can agree on: any extraterrestrials making the effort to say hello will have a motivation of some sort. What they hope to accomplish may decide the method they use to the make the introduction.

Extraterrestrial Contact: Saviors and Destroyers

There’s always been a semi-religious fervor to the consideration of extraterrestrial First Contact. It’s an understandable feeling as such an event would change humanity. It does however, seem to cloud the judgment and quite frankly we’re all in the same boat. History professor George Basalla examines the issue, in more depth than most, in his book “Civilized Life in the Universe: Scientists on Intelligent Extraterrestrials.” Basalla does an excellent job showcasing the robust debate that has surrounded the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) for decades now.

Carl Sagan, a man who I admire for his incredible creativity and vision, was one of the biggest proponents of aliens as saviors. I don’t mean in some traditional religious sense, but in a more secular sense. At various points in his career, Sagan lists many human problems associated with technology and posits a possible solution coming from the stars. Extraterrestrial civilizations could provide humans with the technology to solve those problems. Many of those fascinated by the possibilities of life After First Contact choose to focus on the possible benefits to humanity. Aliens could provide us with the knowledge to advance our technology, which could, in turn, help us solve our environmental dilemma and provide a better balance for the seven billion humans on this one small planet. Or aliens could provide us some great new philosophy that could help us overcome our conflicts and enter a new, peaceful age. Basalla points out that these beliefs came of age in the 1960s. It was a time when humans were faced with the stark realities of technology: a nuclear arms race grown beyond all reason, a global battle between two forms of government, pollution and civil unrest. Not that we don’t face our share of those problems now, but they were birthed and heightened in the 1960s and by the 1970s we were quite worried about the future of humanity. So, was the prospect of extraterrestrial help an easy fix, a kind of faith that would allow us to hope for a better future? Perhaps. Basalla raises the point to question whether our hopes have clouded the scientific judgment of SETI scientists. That’s a sobering and reasonable question.

The argument has power because of the often overly optimistic hopes of the scientists for life in the wake of First Contact. I think it’s important to note that the real world is rarely so simple or nice. It’s usually quite gritty and complicated. To think that First Contact would be purely positive in outcome for humanity is naïve. It’s belies the one thing that humans know for sure: life is struggle and struggle is life.

There are plenty of those who fall in the opposite side of the spectrum. They view extraterrestrial First Contact as having a negative, if not disastrous, outcome for humans. Those doomsayers include Stephen Hawking, one of the most respected physicists of our time.

There is a more measured approach courtesy of Biologist George Wald. He spoke out in a 1972 symposium sponsored by Boston University and NASA. Basalla says Wald's concern was the prospect of humans becoming reliant on alien technology and the impact such dependency might have on the human civilization. If we undermine our scientific process, what will become of us? If you have been reading this blog for any period of time you know that I share the same concern. Even if we were to be handed alien technology (and hopefully with a massive tutorial) I think we would be nuts to just accept whatever we are told. Gatekeeping would be essential. We would have to consider the impact of the information we received and decide if we are truly ready. Perhaps we could just find out about the aliens themselves and their world? They could keep quiet about their technology and allow human science to grow naturally.

It seems unlikely that extraterrestrials would be saviors or destroyers. No matter what their motivation, contact between two civilizations, separated by the vast distances of space for such a long time, would be a complicated enterprise fraught with potential problems and holding many opportunities. If it ever does occur we will need to walk through the landscape after First Contact as if it were a minefield: watching out for the worst and searching for the best.

Extraterrestrial Contact: The One versus the Many

We humans see ourselves as the one- the beginning and the end of intelligent life in the universe. We speculate about what lies beyond that understanding. We tell ourselves that there may be other civilizations in the universe. The truth though, when it is revealed some day, will pierce us like no other discovery in our history. There will most likely be a sense of loss. We will no longer be at the intellectual center of the universe. There will be a sense of wonder. We will look to the night sky with new-found awe. It will be a passage from childhood and into adulthood for our race. We will lose the one and become part of the many, joining beings across the universe. Of course, it's only our perspective that really changes. Whatever greater truth is out there exists with or without our enlightenment.

Humans will take these huge steps together and hopefully, united. It will be a tremendous responsibility for people alive when First Contact occurs. They will take actions that will shape our civilization for many generations to come. Becoming part of the many won't cause us to disintegrate. It can help us to grow stronger and find a new purpose. It’s time to wake up. A new day will be dawning for humanity.

Extraterrestrial Contact: Unity versus Globalism

If you have read this blog for a while you know that I make frequent references to the need for the United Nations to take the lead diplomatic role in extraterrestrial First Contact. I don’t believe that First Contact has occurred and I don’t know when, or if, it might ever occur. I do think we need to contemplate the matter, so that if it does occur, we at least have a general framework for response.

Part of my argument has been that humanity is moving into a new era, with or without First Contact. The era is one of global interdependence and unity. Technology is bringing nations and blocs of nations closer together. It is drawing us closer in many different ways and those ties grow stronger every day. Ultimately, this is an important concept for the consideration of First Contact. Global unity means that perhaps, humans could speak with one voice in a First Contact situation. Global unity provides focus for moving forward After First Contact.

I’m not saying that we are there yet, but we seem to be moving in the direction of global unity. Recent economic challenges have highlighted global interdependence and perhaps brought world economic systems closer together. I heard an analyst on CNN calling for Europe to welcome Asian investment in the same way that many Asian nations have been welcoming Western investment for decades. Calls for China to step in and help to prop up the fragile European Union would have been rare even just a few years ago. There is a realization that countries as different as China and France have common bonds that can be strengthened, providing benefits to both nations.

There are those who would call global unity another name for globalism. Globalism is the term most often used by conservative thinkers who are worried about the rise of international government. They see global unity as potentially harmful to the United States, as it would leave us as one nation in many, rather than the global superpower leading the way. Fear of an international government is an extension of fear of big government. If big government on a national scale is bad, the size and weight of an international government would be very bad, or so the thinking goes. I don’t disagree. Big government can at times be stupid and oppressive. It can diminish human endeavor and bind us in ever-growing bureaucracy. It can take away the power of individuals to join together at the most basic level: neighborhoods, churches and community associations. Does this sound like an extreme view on my part? Take a look at China, where entire neighborhoods are bulldozed to make way for business development. Local community organizations in China are viewed as a threat unless they are controlled by and connected to the government. American conservatives see this and wonder what will happen to our democracy. Would an international government wield such enormous power that it would negate cultural individualism and community choice? Would the scale of world government exasperate all of the worst aspects of big government? Perhaps. It’s a reasonable and understandable concern.

The fear of globalism is lead by fringe groups in the United States, often tied to Christian ministry groups. It is interesting because it’s an area where the right and left come full circle, as do many libertarian views. Many anti-globalists believe that big government and big business are working together to take control on an international level. Probe Ministries is just one of the many Christian groups taking this stance

If you then check out the group Conservative Action Alerts and you can see the slow movement towards the mainstream. Then view this statement on CNN by Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul and listen to the audience reaction to his concerns.

Fear of globalism is creeping its way into mainstream conservative thought. Anyone who thinks it will not be a significant American issue in coming years, with or without extraterrestrial contact, is naïve.

I would argue that there is a significant difference between global unity and globalism as perceived by libertarians. Global unity merely means that we are able to make decisions as one civilization and respond to the challenges that need a global response. A national response, or in reality many national responses, to extraterrestrial First Contact would be ridiculous. It would be disjointed, confusing and perhaps even dangerous. Extraterrestrial diplomacy would need to be carried out by one world body with the involvement of all nations. The only group currently capable of doing such is the United Nations. Giving the United Nations the power to handle diplomatic relations with extraterrestrials is not the first step toward world government. It is a logical reaction to a significant challenge.

There will be those who are afraid that extraterrestrial First Contact will lead humanity to a place where cultures and national identities are lost in a rising tide of universalism. This does not have to be the case. There is no reason why humans can’t have global unity for the challenges that require a global response, while still maintaining national governments and cultural identities. I think we have seen a renewed emphasis on localism in the world. People realize that some of the best things in life happen at the local level and economies of scale are not always the best for human quality of life.

This may sound like an esoteric discussion now. In the wake of First Contact, I would imagine it will be one of the concerns in human reaction. It’s important to be able to separate genuine worries about the impact of a massive world government with what would be the realities of First Contact. Global unity is the only possible answer to the challenges presented by First Contact. Thoughtful conservative voices would need to lead the charge in the effort to separate global unity and global response from the fear of globalism.

Extraterrestrial Contact: The Day the Earth Stood Still

Let’s face it…Klaatu blew it. In the 1951 film and the 2008 remake of “The Day the Earth Stood Still” the fictional alien engages Earthlings with a really poor plan for introduction. He is taken into custody by the U.S. military nearly immediately and never does accomplish his goal of addressing the United Nations. I suppose that’s what happens when you assume a human form: you make bad decisions.

I can’t help it- I get sucked in by this movie every time it’s on television. Sure, the 1951 film is a billion times better. However, the 2008 remake has some interesting plot lines. My favorite is Klaatu as victim. Why on Earth (sorry for the pun) he/ it would decide to approach humanity in this fashion is beyond me. He seems upset at having to deal with the U.S. Military and yet he falls right into their hands. I know, it’s just a science fiction movie and Hollywood has never been known for intelligent remakes. The movie does still make a powerful statement about the arrogance of the human race, something that the original conveyed with much more grace. We think we have exclusive rights to this planet and most likely we will make the same assumption for the solar system and then extend our privilege out into the galaxy. I can understand why the aliens might harbor some resentment. Still, landing your ship in a public place and immediately provoking a hostile human response is a dumb-ass way to go about influencing human decision-making. If you want to make a difference simply come out and say what you mean. If there’s truly no hope for humanity, don’t even bother trying to save us. If there is hope than for gosh sakes try a more effective public relations campaign. When it comes to extraterrestrial First Contact it’s all about human public relations. Aliens contacting humans would have a defined objective. To carry out that objective they would want to carefully consider how they introduced themselves and how they presented themselves. Some would argue that that is a human perspective and it certainly is a human perspective. What other perspective would you take if your goal is to accomplish something involving humanity? They have to take us into account and consider the complexity of our civilization before making First Contact. Unlike Klaatu, one would expect that real aliens might actually be intelligent (sorry, Keanu Reeves). That means they would likely carefully study human civilization before coming to say hello. Any civilization with the technology to travel to Earth would have some system of research. Why wouldn’t you have alien social scientists studying human behavior, international politics and communication techniques? It would provide the basis for a well-developed public relations campaign.

If your goal is to accomplish something in regards to human civilization it would be best to do your homework. Klaatu would have to be graded an F on that assignment.

Extraterrestrial Contact: Dangers as a Reason to Say Hello

If aliens have been monitoring human activity (and I’m not saying they have) there could be a reason for the lack of contact. As many people have pointed out over the years, watchful extraterrestrials might believe that we are not ready for contact. Or they might believe that we would best develop without outside interference. If that is the case, what reason would they have to contact us? Science fiction writers have often postulated that First Contact could occur because extraterrestrials want to save us from some impending doom. That fictional doom has included nuclear war, environmental disaster and asteroids threatening Earth.

Preventing disaster on Earth suggests a caretaking, paternal role for extraterrestrials. The aliens act as the Calvary, coming to the rescue of inept humans. Such a concept is of course exceedingly anthropocentric in nature. It assumes that human feelings such as altruism extend to alien races, which they may or may not. We don’t know any extraterrestrials, so we can’t really ask.

But for the sake of speculation, let’s say that watchful aliens are worried about events on Earth. What might precipitate an extraterrestrial intervention? The use of technology is an obvious answer. Many of the aforementioned plot lines involve aliens providing humans with an advanced technological fix for our technology-caused problems. That fix could be a non-polluting form of energy or a way to prevent global warming through atmospheric manipulation.

However, assistance could come in a less-direct form. Let’s take a look at a major current challenge here on Earth: the economy. We have entered into a curious cycle in the last few years. Many nations on Earth are experiencing economic difficulties. While the factors causing such problems vary from country to country, the interdependent nature of the modern world economic system means that economic trouble in one country can spread to others quickly. Can you imagine Americans 50 years ago caring about Greek financial woes? Technology and other factors have contributed to a level of interdependence between banks and other economic systems unimaginable just a few decades ago.

You can argue that current world economic problems are cyclical and that most countries will manage to climb out of recession and experience positive growth. Some analysts though, are taking a negative view. Adam Davidson of NPR’s “Planet Money” published an excellent piece in the New York Times Magazine recently (his columns are always a highlight of the magazine). He examined economic doomsday scenarios, featuring some well-regarded economists. Nouriel Roubini of New York University was one of the few to predict an impending U.S. housing market crisis in 2005. Today his worry is China. As Davidson points out, Roubini believes that Chinese banks are headed toward a meltdown reminiscent of the U.S. banking crisis of 2008. The reason is basically the same: a massive economic bubble finally bursting. In the Chinese case it is state-sponsored and capitalism-fueled building projects, such as the ghost cities of China. These massive projects have a “if you build it they will come” mentality. Entire cities with skyscrapers and infrastructure are built well before there is a need. The speculators and the Chinese government hope that Chinese workers will move in to seek new opportunity. Crazy? Perhaps. Dangerous? Perhaps. But how would the rest of us be impacted? The collapse of the Chinese banking system would cause shock waves across the world economic system. It would cause capital and to dry up and lending to freeze up. It could lead to consequent crises- such as a second American economic meltdown due to government indebtedness and currency policies.

Humanity is in a precarious position. We have a vast system of economic interdependence that is loosely structured and not very well controlled. While there are some quasi-government systems that hope to mediate some decision making regarding world economic issues, they are largely without any real power. Groups like the G-20, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund act as facilitators to bring nations together in a common discussion. They also control some central banking activity. It’s a start, but it still leaves us with a powerful world economic engine and no one truly at the controls.

We are also in a fragile state with our information technology. We are almost completely reliant on the Internet and information technology for many aspects of our lives. Yet, this too is a complex system without anyone at the controls. Cyber terrorism has become a popular worry. One massive virus could impact countries across the globe. A cyber war could be devastating. No one would die and yet human civilization could be set back by decades or even centuries.

I don’t necessarily believe that any of these things will occur. But they are just a couple of things that altruistic aliens might watch closely. If they truly care about our development as a civilization, they might decide to take action to prevent the massive damage that either scenario could cause.

How could aliens help us? Well, the cyber threat could have direct technological repairs. The fragile world economic state would be a tougher thing to fix, since essentially we’re the only ones that can solve the problem. First Contact would provide one powerful message: we need to join closer together as a civilization and find ways to strengthen our common institutions with more established global linkages and most importantly, control over those linkages. This solution would take a while. The shock caused by First Contact could just as easily throw our economic system into chaos as it could help provide stability. That’s part of the problem with speculation- when you get this far out in thought you are in completely uncharted waters. I don’t think anyone on the planet would know what might happen in such a situation. Perhaps aliens have been studying us and have their own predictions. You would imagine altruistic aliens would have reason to believe that introducing themselves would benefit the human race.

I have a final thought that is a bit disquieting. There is a flip-side to this conversation. Perhaps the aliens are not altruistic are all, but rather malevolent. Hollywood loves to show aliens blowing things up on Earth. In reality, there would be a much easier way to bring humans to their knees: plant your own computer virus and watch it run wild. Then, when our society has stopped cold and chaos is taking over the planet you can step in with an offer: we’ll fix it, but now we’re in charge. What could we do?

We’ve made ourselves a rather complicated world here on Earth. Technological developments have given us wonders and improved the lives of many. However, it comes with a cost. We are now subject to forces that we don’t fully understand and that we currently don’t have an organized system to reign in those forces. We’re like a baby behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. Maybe we’ll keep it under control. But there’s always the chance that our need for speed will drive us over the brink. If there are altruistic aliens looking out for us we can only hope that they’ll spot the fatal curve in the road before it’s too late. In the meantime, since there are probably not any aliens out there examining us, we had better roll up our sleeves and solve our own damn problems.

Extraterrestrial Contact: The Fourth Adjustment

I had a pill stuck in my throat the other day. It was annoying as hell and as I downed glasses of water it reminded me of something. Pardon the coarse analogy, but it came to me that the pill is the realization by humanity that we are not alone in the universe and not at the center of the universe. It’s something we are, collectively, still trying to swallow. Slowly the pill works its way down. We’re not choking, but it’s a slow, uncomfortable process. Each planetary discovery by the NASA Kepler mission brings us closer to the truth.

The discovery of extraterrestrial life will help in the process. The discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence will speed the process up. Harlow Shapley called this the Fourth Adjustment of how humans view themselves. He refers to the change in geocentric, heliocentric and galactocentric world views. The geocentric and heliocentric views are familiar to us from history. The galactocentric view shifted just in the last few decades, when it was shown that our solar system lies on the edge of the Milky Way. The adjustment effect is to ever broaden human perception of the physical world around us.

Steven Dick argues in his 1995 paper “Consequences of Success in SETI: Lessons from the History of Science” that this Fourth Adjustment has already begun. Popular culture has actively considered the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence for more than 200 years. Many surveys show that the majority of respondents believe that extraterrestrial life exists. A 2005 poll conducted for the National Geographic Channel even showed that 7 out of 10 Americans surveyed thought that extraterrestrial beings have the ability to travel through space and communicate through deep space.

Humans themselves may be slowly making the Fourth Adjustment, but it appears that human institutions have a ways to go. The U.S. Government cut off spending for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) in the 1990s under intense political pressure. The United Nations has yet to act on any major SETI related proposals. That’s understandable- institutions have many pressing needs at this time and supporting SETI research entails political risk. However, technology may be changing institutions whether they like it or not. It’s increasing our economic interdependence. It’s putting the power to force change in the hands of millions of individuals, thanks to social media. The Internet and other communication technology is changing the way we relate to institutions and creating new demands on institutions. As humans across the planet grow closer together with technology, it seems likely that institutions will do so as well. Why is this important for the Fourth Adjustment? Knowledge of extraterrestrial intelligence demands that we view our civilization differently. It makes us consider the human context in the wider universe first and culture and nation based contexts secondarily. Dick says that the shift is happening slowly, but there is still a high likelihood of a significant revolution in thought if extraterrestrial intelligence is ever discovered.

The pill will go down eventually, whether slowly or in a dramatic event. Future generations of humans will view the universe very differently.