Security considerations in signal detection

Tarter, Donald E.

doi:10.1016/s0094-5765(00)00038-2

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Lyall (1998) believes a post-detection protocol could be useful with full governmental participation on an international scale, but that a communications or reply policy would be difficult to legally enforce. Sterns (2000) and Tarter (2000) agree government concerns about national security, panic or some other perceived threat from an extraterrestrial civilization may impose restrictions on the free dissemination of information or data about a detection.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unknown caller: can we effectively manage the announcement of discovery of extraterrestrial life?

Gartrelle

2015

International Journal of Astrobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The definitive discovery of another form of life from beyond Earth will answer one of our most fundamental questions: Are we alone in the Universe? This announcement will be the most significant in history. It will have impact on every facet of our lives and affect everyone on Earth. Ensuring the announcement is handled properly represents an opportunity to unify government, industrial, and scientific resources to work together on a global scale issue. The purpose of the present paper is to understand whether we have the overall strategy, management structures and process disciplines in place on a global scale to handle an announcement of this magnitude. The research methodology included review and analysis of peer-reviewed work on the topic, publications from appropriate scientific and policy organizations, and public statements from several acknowledged experts in the field of astrobiology and extraterrestrial communications. The 1996 case of the announcement of possible life from Martian meteorite ALH84001 was also analysed. The findings of the paper are multiple deficiencies exist in the ability to manage this problem globally in an integrated fashion across borders, institutional boundaries, and through the media. High-level recommendations are offered to address major identified gaps.

show abstract

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unknown caller: can we effectively manage the announcement of discovery of extraterrestrial life?

Gartrelle

2015

International Journal of Astrobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Governments could become involved if classified state-of-the-art technology detects hints of extraterrestrial intelligence, or if officials conclude that the scientists are about to hit pay dirt. Under these conditions scientists could be replaced by security agents, detailed reports by highly censored news releases, and openness by secrecy [43]. Rather than being a celebratory event for everyone, the discovery could become a bargaining chip in international affairs.…”

Section: Concluding Commentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The future of SETI: Finite effort or search without end?

Harrison

2009

Futures

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Progress towards less violent and more risk-averse societies is evident among humans [5] and simulation experiments, among other things, suggest that cooperative, "pacifistic" civilizations tend to outcompete aggressive ones in the long run [6,7]. Furthermore, the realities of interstellar travel may very well eliminate interstellar aggression as a policy option [8,9]. Obviously, if all the ETIs possibly encountered by humans are benevolent, neutral, or unable to harm us, the question whether we would be attacked would be rendered moot.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prior research has analyzed the general logic and some specific scenarios of interstellar conflict and the risks of contacting possible ETIs (e.g. [7][8][9][10][11][12]), usually concluding that the practical problems of attacks, invasions and resource grabs would make the possibility of realistic gains dubious at best. However, to my knowledge, no prior work has analyzed the specific case of preventive first strike aimed at eliminating competitors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MAD with aliens? Interstellar deterrence and its implications

Korhonen

2013

Acta Astronautica

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The possibility that extraterrestrial intelligences (ETIs) could be hostile to humanity has been raised as a reason to avoid even trying to contact ETIs. However, there is a distinct shortage of analytical discussion about the risks of an attack, perhaps because of an implicit premise that we cannot analyze the decision making of an alien civilization. This paper argues that we can draw some inferences from the history of the Cold War and nuclear deterrence in order to show that at least some attack scenarios are likely to be exaggerated. In particular, it would seem to be unlikely that the humanity would be attacked simply because it might, some time in the future, present a threat to the ETI. Even if communication proves to be difficult, rational decision-makers should avoid unprovoked attacks, because their success would be very difficult to assure. In general, it seems believable that interstellar conflicts between civilizations would remain rare. The findings advise caution for proposed interstellar missions, however, as starfaring capability itself might be seen as a threat.On the other hand, attempting to contact ETIs seems to be a relatively low-risk strategy: paranoid ETIs must also consider the possibility that the messages are a deception designed to lure out hostile civilizations and preemptively destroy them.

show abstract

Security considerations in signal detection

Cited by 5 publications

References 3 publications

Unknown caller: can we effectively manage the announcement of discovery of extraterrestrial life?

Unknown caller: can we effectively manage the announcement of discovery of extraterrestrial life?

The future of SETI: Finite effort or search without end?

MAD with aliens? Interstellar deterrence and its implications

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About