Extraterrestrial Contact: A Helpful Media or Not?

Most humans are now connected as part of a global communications web that extends to every nation and nearly every point on Earth. Whatever the channel, those communication lines are often organized by media companies. These days it’s important to broaden our perspective of what defines media. Clearly we are well beyond the days of broadcast and newspaper domination. Internet communications, in a multitude of forms, continues to grow. Websites, blogs, podcasts, TV stations, radio, newspapers, and magazines – these entities act as agenda setters. They seek to define the world from a certain perspective. Individual Facebook pages and Twitter feeds are also used by agenda setters.

So, what impact would the media have in an extraterrestrial Direct First Contact situation? Here I define Direct First Contact as an alien civilization coming to our solar system to say hello.  Would the media be helpful or would they cause problems? The scenario would probably determine the answers to those questions. And since any First Contact scenario is pure speculation, trying to define exact reactions is probably a waste of time. However, we know enough about how our media responds to the current world environment to make some generalizations.

There are several ways that the media could be very helpful in a Direct First Contact event. The web of video and information sharing is so robust these days that an event in a reasonably large city, almost anywhere in the world, can be seen live anywhere else in a matter of minutes.  This makes the human media networks a great way to reach all of humanity at once. Media sharing, especially through live television feeds, are quick, adaptable and redundant. The adaptable part comes in the diversity of sources. A protest in Egypt could come from a traditional network TV camera. It could also be streamed live with a $25 web cam. The media outlets have become much more adaptable in using alternative video sources. This also helps with redundancy. If one media outlet is not doing its job, someone else will likely pick up the slack. If none of the traditional media outlets meet the demands of news viewers, individual people will provide video and reporting. That was shown in many of the Arab spring protests when the traditional media had a tough time gathering video. Making a Direct First Contact event a live television event connects the world to First Contact and takes away the veil of secrecy.

The media could be helpful in explaining First Contact. They would be the first source of information about the visiting extraterrestrials for the majority of humans. They would also report on how human government and institutions respond to First Contact. The media would be essential in educating the public. Such education would be important to minimize fears. There is a flipside- the media could also prepare humans, if they should be fearful. If the world media outlets are doing their job they should be critical of how governments and institutions are responding. The media can provide feedback from the public about how average humans feel about First Contact. Media outlets can conduct surveys to help quantify human reactions.

However, as we all know, human media outlets have their weaknesses. Competition, a driving force behind the success of a free media, can also make a mess. If media outlets act in a rash manner they could take rumors seriously. There is one thing that I can guarantee in any First Contact scenario- there will be plenty of rumors and bad information going around. It may take a few days or weeks to manifest, but incorrect information would undoubtedly bubble beneath the surface of the public conversation. In an environment where everyone is keyed up and nervous, such bad information could be quite destructive.

If media outlets promote incorrect information and get facts wrong they could do more damage than good. Most humans will get their information about First Contact from the media. In a sense, the media will help to determine long-term human reaction. If we live in a fearful, rumor-filled world we will not make good decisions. The resulting actions could hurt the human civilization for generations to come. The initial decisions in any First Contact situation would be critical.

So, how do we keep the media on the good side of communication practices? When it comes to the free media, that responsibility will be largely up to them. The professionals running news organizations and internet sites will need to understand that the importance of their jobs has just grown immensely. They will need to step up to the challenge. It can be done. The American TV networks did an amazing job of handling the 9-11 terrorist strike. I was a first hand witness to the crazy rumors that pop up when people are scared and agitated. The media managed to step up to the plate. They dispelled rumors. They focused on facts.

There are ways that the people controlling First Contact can help. Governments and institutions should make all information available as soon as possible. Secrets will only create bigger problems. Transparency would be critical. The best approach would be to put all the available information out there immediately. If it’s too complicated for one news conference, put it up in its entirety on the web. Have live streaming of all meetings on First Contact issues. Open up the entire process to the public. Don’t rely on the media to explain things- provide trusted experts who can put such issues in perspective.

Information in a Direct First Contact scenario would likely be incredibly complicated and perhaps beyond our initial understanding. Aliens with the technological ability to visit our solar system would probably have a system of science far advanced of ours. If they were willing to share such information we would probably need many years of education to even begin to understand. That doesn’t mean the process needs to be kept behind closed doors. Putting the information out there could help the process- by allowing many different thinkers, from many different perspectives, to consider the ideas.

First Contact could help the human civilization and it could hurt humans and that’s just assuming that the aliens themselves are neutral. We are quite often our own worst enemy. The media will have a huge role to play in First Contact. Here’s hoping that they will be up to the task.

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Who Benefits from Extraterrestrial First Contact?

There are so many possible scenarios for extraterrestrial First Contact (if it ever happens at all) that it’s tough to talk about whom on Earth might benefit from such an occurrence, let alone whether there would be any benefit at all. It could very well be a primarily negative outcome for humanity.

Let’s try to narrow the field a bit to a specific type of First Contact: high-information sharing. This scenario assumes that aliens are friendly and communicate with us in some manner. They provide us with a large amount of information about them and what they have learned about the universe. Who could benefit from such information?

Academics might be the first line of response. Deciphering extraterrestrial knowledge, even if it was presented in a human language, would likely take many years and much study. Current academic fields would need to respond and then grow into new academic specialties. This would create incredible opportunity for scientists, researchers and professors, at least those who are creative and flexible enough to respond to alien information. Universities with top academics could become incredibly important in the wake of First Contact. Research money would likely pour in from many sources. The danger is how responsive the academic community is to change. Only those institutions and individuals with the vision to see how paradigms could shift and be re-imagined would benefit. And even then, those academics would need great fortitude to endure the massive upheaval such paradigm change would bring.

Corporations and businesses of all sorts could benefit greatly from information about technology. Such information could spur new enterprises and entirely new technological fields. Even a small bit of revolutionary information could cause us to reconsider our current systems of knowledge, bringing about innovation. Clearly businesses that are successful in reacting quickly to such information would benefit. Once again, progressive and fast-acting businesses will rule the day. Others may be quickly left behind.

Investors could find lucrative new economic market growth areas. This could lead to market swings as speculation follows the latest news and information. Perhaps old technology would see a decline as new fields developed. These market fluctuations could be especially hard on the more rigid investments, especially massive retirement funds.

The working and middle classes globally might not experience much benefit from First Contact in the early months and years of discovery. Extraterrestrial information, especially complicated ideas, might be difficult to understand, especially for those without formalized education. Market swings and changes in the economy could be difficult for the working and middle classes. While one would hope that advances in technology would eventually help all of humanity, it might be a tough road in getting to that point.

Governments with the educational and technological infrastructure to capitalize on new information could do well after high-information First Contact. Governments without such an infrastructure will be in trouble. This, combined with market shifts and other economic changes, could make the gulf between the developed world and third world nations even greater. This, in turn, could lead to unrest and troubled international relations as nations struggle to find a place in the new world.

The overall impact of high information First Contact could be a race of sorts. Everyone will try to figure out what will happen next and how it might impact humans. The gulf between the educated and non-educated, the involved and the uninvolved, the adaptable and the rigid, may grow to a point where it becomes a major world issue. This is just one reason why I believe that everyone in the world should feel like an active participant in First Contact and the resulting information that may come from a relationship with an extraterrestrial civilization. Governments, higher education institutions, scientific bodies and the media must work together to educate the entire human populace and explain information. There has to be buy-in from the masses that this is something bigger than all of us – the future of human civilization is at stake. Those alive when First Contact occurs will be a bridge generation- those who knew life before First Contact and lived to experience life After First Contact. There is a great responsibility that comes with that unique standing in history. People at the cusp of alien interaction must work together to keep humans moving in the right direction. The greatest danger from First Contact might not be marauding aliens, but rather dangerous divisions between humans.

This is more than just a public relations campaign. It should be a fundamental re-thinking of the world. All humans should have the right to information, education and access to the public discourse. Our technology demands it. This is a movement that is occurring now, without us knowing if intelligent extraterrestrials even exist. It will become the central issue in the wake of First Contact.

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Risk Management and Extraterrestrial First Contact

Consideration of improbable events falls outside of proactive preparation in most instances. I work in public relations in Tennessee. We have plans and procedures for handling dangerous weather. Tornadoes in Tennessee are a common occurrence. While the risk of one hitting your house or place of business may be minimal, it is high enough to warrant planning. The same is true of a fire or violent incident. But how about consideration of a satellite hitting your workplace? Or even an airplane? Now, truly there is not much you can do to prepare for those specific incidents and general planning can cover many scenarios. Still, it raises an interesting question- what do you need to prepare for?

I have advocated for planning to form a proactive response to extraterrestrial First Contact.  SETI (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence) researchers have been advocating this for many years. SETI and the International Astronomical Union have a brief protocol for the discovery of an extraterrestrial signal, determined to be engineered by an intelligent civilization. Still, that protocol is almost entirely confined to the confirmation and reporting of the discovery of the signal. SETI scientists have asked the United Nations to consider the matter in more depth. Thus far, that request has been tabled, on a number of occasions.

There are two primary reasons. The first is, of course, the nutty factor. Unfortunately people have blown up extraterrestrial contact in the popular imagination to the point that it cannot be taken seriously. The second reason is more practical: humans face many tangible threats in the form of war, famine and disease. The United Nations likely takes both reasons into account when tabling alien protocol proposals. But are we putting ourselves at risk by doing so?

I found this risk management blog entry by MarcRonez. It follows the Nicholas Taleb Black Swan theory: high-profile, difficult to predict and rare events have a major and disproportionate impact on human endeavors.

Ronez advocates for a wider interpretation of risk based on the idea that over the course of time, even the most improbably events will eventually occur. Now, extraterrestrial contact is not necessarily one of those events. Intelligent civilizations may not even exist. And if they do exist they could be so far away that we would never contact them. At best, we might hope to discover a far-off signal some day and spend years and years trying to decipher the signal. But the very nature of our ignorance (we don’t know if intelligent aliens exist of not) means that it is still a possibility.

Ronez says that people and ultimately organizations have a natural tendency to ignore the improbable. And in doing so, that ignorance opens the organizations up to potentially catastrophic risk. Another example is the probability of a massive asteroid or comet hitting the planet Earth. It has happened on many occasions in the history of the planet. Astronomers point out that it is likely to occur again, but likely could be a time frame of 100-10,000 years. The threat of such objects is just starting to hit the human radar, so to speak. Astronomers carefully track such objects and determine the probability of them hitting Earth. Still, how often do you hear a public outcry about the possibility? We have the science and technology to prepare for some sort of interception of such an object and yet are we actively doing so? It seems to me that such conversation is only occurring at the fringe of the public discourse. The Siberian meteor explosion earlier this year received much news coverage and perhaps started the conversation. However, quickly the civil war in Syria and threats by North Korea pushed such talk out of the popular media. Will we eventually develop a sophisticated plan to respond to the threat of extraterrestrial objects? Perhaps, but if we continue to move only when such threats become real, it may be too late. Such an event is highly improbable and yet it could render the human species extinct.

Contact with intelligent aliens has risks as well. The most obvious is that an alien civilization could wage war on humans. Less obvious is the threat of extraterrestrial information to human systems of science, technology, religion and government. Is it prudent to plan for an event that may never happen? I would argue that the likelihood of a threat should determine the amount of planning and the resources dedicated to prepare an effective response to the threat. Thus, planning to counteract the bird-flu should have massive planning and resources. The threat is immediate and the risk is drastic. The threat of objects hitting the Earth is more remote, but perhaps even more consequential. It deserves a modest level of planning and resources (and we’re not even close to that level right now). Extraterrestrial contact may never occur, but if it does the consequences could be extreme. So, for First Contact I suggest a small amount of planning and resources. It would be stupid to put billions of dollars into planning for extraterrestrial contact. Luckily, such planning wouldn’t take much money or time. SETI researchers and other astronomers would be more than happy to dedicate the time and energy. All it requires is for the United Nations to take a risk. The risk is minimal, but in a world that questions the need for the United Nations, appearing silly is a real concern. I know that United Nations leaders would be subject to public criticism if they opened extraterrestrial First Contact protocol discussions. Sometimes that’s the risk of vision. You must look beyond the horizon and ask yourself what might occur next, and even more so, what should occur next. Those mired in the daily slog of existence might call United Nations leaders crazy or frivolous for considering extraterrestrial First Contact. So be it. The risk exists and the cost of planning is minimal. Call it a reasonable investment in risk management. It’s time for the UN to act.

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