Imagine we detect an interstellar object entering our solar system. At first, astronomers think it's just another natural interloper like Oumuamua or comet Borisov. We're warming up to the idea of visitors from other parts of the galaxy, though they've been inanimate so far.
But then, what if it becomes clear that something's different about this visitor? What if it moves unnaturally or somehow behaves purposefully? What if it takes up a stable orbit somewhere? What if, as we gather more evidence, it becomes clear that it's a probe of some sort sent to us intentionally? What if it communicates with us?
John Gertz, who is not a working scientist, is the author of a new paper titled simply"Interstellar Diplomacy." It is available on the pre-print serverScientific American"One way or another, contact with aliens may be imminent," Gertz writes."There has been no planning among nations for the aftermath of a first detection." Aftermath is a good word because if we're contacted by an ETI, it would be a dramatic shake-up for humanity. A lot could go wrong.
"The classic SETI paradigm has been challenged by myself and others who have argued that ET's better strategy for making contact would be to send physical probes to our solar system for that purpose," he writes. If a probe visits us, there'll be a wide variety of proposed responses. Some might want to destroy it, some might want to capture it, and some might want to treat it as some type of ambassador. And some, unfortunately, will be completely irrational and start worshiping it or some such nonsense.
Gertz argues that whatever the committee or body that examines this problem is called, it should be multinational and multidisciplinary. This could be a decades-long endeavor with robust debate and gaming of outcomes. And, knowing humanity, a lot of acrimonious posturing and finger-pointing.
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