Is Active SETI a Smart First Move or Potentially Dangerous?

"We're talking about initiating communication with other civilizations, but we know nothing of their goals, capabilities, or intent."

John Billingham, senior scientist at the private SETI Institute in Mountain View, California

Alexander Zaitsev, Chief Scientist at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics, has been broadcasting messages to the potential transient life forms that may exist within the Milky Way. Zaitsev has access to one of the most powerful radio transmitters on Earth, which is officially used to conduct the Institute's planetary radar studies, but he uses it to double as a galactic “loudspeaker”. For those who believe that the chance other forms of sentient life in the universe are too small to be significant, the debate is a moot point.

However Zaitsev believes extraterrestrial intelligence likely does exists, and that we as a species are morally obligated to announce our presence to our sentient neighbors After all, if all sentient life forms in the galaxy are only listening just as we are, he reasons, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is already doomed to failure. In other words, someone has to make the first move.

But is Zaitsev speaking out of turn? Some scientists openly question his initiative to independently act as Earth’s spokesman for the rest of the planet, while others praise his proactive stance. Zaitsev has already sent several powerful messages to nearby, sun-like stars that could possible harbor habitable planets. The practice is known as "Active SETI", as opposed to traditional SETI, which involves attempting to pick up another sentient beings message. The concern with Active SETI is that possible dangers may lurk that could inadvertently be unleashed by announcing ourselves to the unknown. After all, if there are other sentient beings in the galaxy, who can say they’re the type of beings we’d want to know our whereabouts? But at the very least, some argue, if we’re going to transmit messages from Earth, the rest of the world should have some say in the message we send.

The debate over Active SETI versus passive "listening" has been traditionally confined to SETI insiders. However, last year the controversy boiled over when an editorial critical of the practice was published in the journal Nature. The article scolded the SETI community for largely ignoring the risks, and failing to conduct open discussions on the matter.

John Billingham who studied medicine at Oxford and headed NASA's first extraterrestrial search effort in 1976 believes we should apply the Hippocratic Oath's primary tenet to the issue: "First, do no harm." Billingham served as the chairman of the Permanent Study Group (PSG) of the SETI subcommittee of the International Academy of Astronautics, a widely accepted forum for devising international SETI agreements. But despite his deep involvement with the group, Billingham resigned in September, feeling the PSG is unwisely refusing to take a stand urging broad, interdisciplinary consultation on Active SETI. "At the very least we ought to talk about it first, and not just SETI people. We have a responsibility to the future well-being and survival of humankind."

Billingham is not alone in his dissent. Michael Michaud, a former top diplomat within the US State Department and a specialist in technology policy, also resigned from the PSG in September. Though highly aware of the potential for misunderstanding or ridicule, Michaud feels too much is at stake for the public to remain uninvolved in the debate. "Active SETI is not science; it's diplomacy. My personal goal is not to stop all transmissions, but to get the discussion out of a small group of elites."

Those like Michaud and Billingham feel that by not calling for international consultations, the SETI PSG is, in effect, endorsing “rogue” broadcasting. They believe that no matter how small the risks may be, they’re risks worth taking seriously.

On the other hand, who really can say what message is the “right one” no matter how much consensus is gathered? Zaitsev feels that with all this listening, it only makes sense to “speak” as well.

Posted by Rebecca Sato

Related Galaxy posts:

SETI's Search for ET Goes Exponential
Cetacea: Mind-Bending Theories About the Planet's “Other” Intelligent Life
"War of the Worlds" 2 or Story of the Century?
The ET Question: Is Mainstream Media Looking the Other Way?

Links:

http://www.setileague.org/editor/actvseti.htm

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v443/n7112/full/443606a.html

http://iaaseti.org/

Comments

[Daniel Appleton]

Two things come to my mind about this.

1st, Earth has been advertising its presence as a vessel / harbor of intelligent life to a small portion of the galaxy ever since the 1st radio transmissions.
( Although granted, those would be weak against the background
" noise " generated by other stars, stellar phenomena, our own solar wind, etc. )

2nd, Why do we always assume that if there is extra - terrestrial life, they're either god - like semi - angelic beings with a greater understanding of the cosmos than we dumb, primitive, plodding humans have, or they're warlike beings intent on enslaving us, turning us into pets or turning us into food, or experimenting on us ? What if they just want to be left alone for the time being & they'll drop in for a visit & maybe bring a gift by when they can ?

[anoniumimus IX]

A good first step. But if the " subject" or extra - terrestrial that is far more advansed and potenualy dangerus the obvius chose would be to cut communications&go into hideing.

[Keith]

Any "consensus" would be by definition, on this planet today, a lowest common denominator, muddled by the 98% who believe in fantasy. Better leave choice of message to those who think rationally, clearly.

[Marty Ferguson]

THANK YOU, DANIEL...!

...For stating the FIRST, and what should have already been obvious, observation on this topic. WE HUMANS HAVE BEEN SENDING OUT RADIO SIGNALS EVER SINCE MARCONI INVENTED THE DEVICE and we are fast approaching (if we haven't already passed it) the century mark. I'm sure enough people have also seen 'CONTACT' at least once and can readily understand the statement that Tom Skerrit made explaining the reasons why Adolph Hitler's image was the first response received by another intelligent life-form; the sentence fit the science.We unknowingly made that 'first move' a long time ago.

We may also think that, with the types of 'bad press' that Holly-wood has shown towards sci-fi (i.e.; 'INDEPENDENCE DAY', 'THE WAR OF THE WORLDS', even 'CE3K' and 'E.T.' and all those '50's flicks) why would any E.T. want to visit us? To paraphrase one movie, we 'just like to blow things up!!' And we're still blowing things up, as well as beheading each other and any other atrocities a person knows about. This planet just may be the new hunting mecca for any 'PREDATOR'-like being looking for new 'ALIEN' sport.

[Daniel Appleton]

Marty -

If they're out there, & capable of interstellar travel, we should've been visited a LONG time ago after they started picking up signals from us.

They might either think that we're too primitive to bother making contact with, or they might have the ability to send / receive radio signals but not have even developed the technology to build even primitive spaceships or probes like Galileo, Viking, Pioneer / Voyager, Giotto, etc.
( " They regard human thought as a social disease. Kind of makes you proud, doesn't it ? " To loosely quote " Agent K " from " Men In Black " )

& I don't seriously think aliens would travel interstellar distances just to stick probes in some farmer, good ol' boy or redneck in a bayou or wheatfield somewhere, some guy that no one is going to believe in a million years, even if they terrorized Whitley Streiber. ( " Why does your license plate say ' Probe 1 ' ? " )

[Daniel Appleton]

We could transmit the KJV Bible into space !!!!
( Tongue in cheek )

I did see a story about sending passages from various religious scriptures ( Bible, Q'uran, Gita, Buddhist sutras, etc., into space ) into space, & I think they included some on the Voyager record.

[keith]

You guys just don't get it... it is the fantasy world of believing in a "divine" fantasy, that this Earth is somehow "special", that muddles minds worldwide. OPEN your eyes and from that point only, constructive, rational dialogue can then only commence, about a wondrous future among the stars.

[Wayne Smallman]

We've been speaking out into the cosmos ever since the first radio signal was broadcast decades ago...