Real life isn’t like the movies.
Which is why the question of extraterrestrial existence (and what to do if it is out there)
is still very much an unknown, even amongst the scientific community.
There are some who espouse that we should attempt contact at all costs, while others
fear that this would be a very, very bad idea.
So, this is Unveiled, and today we’re taking a closer look at the real reason why aliens
probably WILL kill everyone.
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Much of the debate surrounding the presence of alien life is today scattered across a
number of theories - some more outlandish than others.
One of the perhaps most compelling, however, is known as The Dark Forest Hypothesis.
First and foremost, it’s an idea that suggests that alien life does likely exist.
But, even so, it argues that contact with any other civilization by that alien group
might be considered so frightening and fraught with danger, that it would be best to actively
avoid it.
ETs that are advanced enough to survive deliberately choose to remain silent, because to do otherwise
might invite the potential threat of annihilation…
so the theory goes.
When reaching out into space, then, the most intelligent species are those that do so with
utmost caution, slowly and tentatively finding their way as though they’re trying to just
quietly shuffle through the leaves and branches of a forest.
In a sense, it’s an idea that can be applied historically to life on Earth, as well, where
we have Mutually Assured Destruction.
Broadly, this principle states that one nuclear superpower is inevitably kept at bay by another
nuclear superpower thanks to that other power’s nuclear capability.
If one were ever to go on the offensive, it would initiate a retaliatory strike that would
ultimately destroy both parties.
It’s then only a small step from these modes of thought back to a wider consideration of
our place in the universe.
What if, for example, an alien civilization contacted by Earth turned out to be hostile?
It’s not exactly unlikely.
Most stars within our galaxy are significantly older than the Sun… so, chances are that
a nearby alien colony could potentially possess technology that’s much more advanced than
ours is.
And that technology could easily seal our doom.
But, perhaps let’s not run to our apocalyptic end times, before we can walk to them.
At a more basic level, scientists and policy makers today have to consider the process
and ethics of interstellar communication.
The SETI Institute was founded in 1984 as an organization dedicated to the search for
extraterrestrial intelligence.
SETI continually listens to (and observes) the stars, and that’s despite an almost
ever-present line from within the US government and the Pentagon insisting that there’s
no evidence that alien life exists.
Additionally, METI International (i.e., messaging to extraterrestrial intelligence) was founded
in 2015, in the hopes of more actively establishing contact - by the sending of messages to hypothesized
alien groups.
Both organizations serve as major lifelines to those who believe that the official lines
are actually incorrect, and that there is life out there, waiting to be found.
But still, is this all merely a fool’s errand?
Or, maybe so entrenched in the realm of science fiction that it’ll never become science
fact?
The answer certainly depends on who you ask, but an infamous paradox begins to come into
view if we think long and hard about the subject.
The Fermi Paradox; or the very simple question of, “where is everyone?”.
In short, this is the seeming contradiction between a lack of physical evidence that alien
life exists… and the scientific knowledge concerning the law of averages that it must
do.
There just has to be life out there, because there are so many potential opportunities
in space for life to thrive.
But, if that’s the case…then why hasn’t contact already happened?
One solution says that it could be that our technology just isn’t advanced enough yet;
that we simply aren’t heard by those we’re trying to contact, or that we don’t understand
if they ever try to reach us.
But not all theories are quite so well meaning.
Not all conclude with the suggestion that we just need to keep trying…
rather, there are warnings that we should think more about the Dark Forest scenario,
and be much more careful.
Enter the famed physicist and cosmologist, Stephen Hawking.
Hawking held a generally more pessimistic view of alien contact, comparing a hypothetical
encounter to that had in history between Christopher Columbus and Native Americans.
In a number of interviews, Hawking highlighted how we need only look at ourselves to see
how intelligent life might easily develop into something that we wouldn’t want to
meet.
History shows how Columbus and other colonizers were ultimately ruthless, cruel, and had a
devastating impact on native groups… and so, the idea is that any arriving alien force
might behave and apply itself to Earth as a whole in much the same way.
Hawking isn’t the only scientist to have raised such concerns, either.
For example, a 2011 report co-authored by NASA’s Shawn Domagal-Goldman (while he was
at Pennsylvania State University) developed multiple, potential scenarios for alien contact
- including ones in which selfish aliens work solely for themselves, and ones in which they
wield unintentional and/or intentional harm to our societies.
Furthermore, there have long been theories that advanced aliens might knowingly attack
us in a bid to preserve other alien groups, to protect those groups from us… a scenario
in which, again, ultimately, we would be basically helpless.
All of which means that, while it might sound like a dilemma out of a movie only, the question
of whether or not we should cry out against the Dark Forest, whether or not we should
ruffle those leaves and branches of the universe, remains entirely valid in real life.
Because, do we really want to hear from whoever might answer our call?
Douglas Vakoch, the president and founder of METI International, naturally counters
that we should.
In a 2016 article for “Nature Physics”, titled “In Defence of METI”, he argues
that if they [the aliens] wanted to invade, then they most probably already would have.
And perhaps there is some logic here, too… but does that also mean that METI (and organizations
like it) should go unchecked in terms of how many messages they send?
In terms of the content those messages provide?
Should we instead have a kind of SETI police, independently analyzing the information we
give up?
Some say that yes we should have stricter rules… with more and more questions about
accountability being raised when it comes to the great unknown of space.
But what do you think?
Should we be trying to message aliens, yes or no?
Should we be messaging them freely, or should there be a cap?
To some extent, this particular horse has already bolted, however.
For example, both NASA and the European Space Agency - two of the world’s leading space
organizations - have already directly targeted the North Star, Polaris, in recent times.
NASA broadcast a Beatles song toward it in 2008; ESA beamed more than three thousand
text messages directly at it, in 2016.
There have been other, similar initiatives, too.
Meanwhile, the concerns against have mounted, as well...
such as earlier in 2016, when multiple scientists signed and released a warning against METI,
urging for debate, at least, around what is (and isn’t) sent.
Questions like, “who’s in charge?”
and “who sets the rules?”
might appear quite basic, but given that the responses to these messages possess the potential
to affect all known life on earth…
they’re really fundamental considerations that we perhaps need to make.
And, in fact, there’s even some division between SETI and METI with regard to the tactics
we should be employing, with SETI’s John Gertz (amongst others) having previously suggested
(in a 2021 paper) that METI is reckless and should bear criminal consequences.
That paper ran with a subtitle regarding SETI and METI; “The Time Has Come to Regulate
Them Both”.
For now, given the universal speed limit of light, there is at least a little time on
our hands before our probably quite primitive signals could be picked up by another force.
But, if and when that does happen, we could well be in serious trouble.
If nothing else, then Earth and humankind might be seen as the latest energy hotspot
by a Kardashev Type Three civilization somewhere, intent on harnessing and conquering all within
its path.
For those against, METI might double up as us waving our own red flag at that particular
bull.
Ultimately, of course, we don’t know.
But it’s that fear of the unknown that has increasing numbers urging a more restrained
approach.
That silent paranoia that we may not be alone in the universe.
And, if we’re not?
What if they’re not friendly?
We don’t have any reason to assume that humanity is the highest evolved civilization,
just as we have no reason to assume that any contact with aliens will be mutually beneficial
to both.
There are some more positive potential scenarios, where peace and goodwill is sent our way by
a well meaning ET group, yes… but should we be taking that risk?
And shouldn’t we all get a say in what happens, if we are to take that risk?
Because there are many models and theories to suggest that, actually, first contact could
be fatal… and that’s why aliens probably will kill everyone.
What do you think?
Is there anything we missed?
Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you
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