Extraterrestrials Should Be Sent Into Space

As debates rise over whether active SETI should be pursued, perhaps the debate should spend some time deciding what messages should be sent into space. Afterall, a large part of determining whether humans should actively seek for contact with extraterrestrials lies in deciding if the repercussions of such actions would be positive or negative to the human race; positive or negative that would be in large part due to the messages sent. The importance of the content of messages shows its significance when one considers how organisms on earth respond to different initial signals. For instance, when one person sees another on the street, saying “hello” or “get out of my way” would certainly have a large impact on the response that follows from
the other person. The same can be said of initial interactions between organisms of different species, for which there is no previous interaction; a human, when it sees a bee near, can either stand still and let the bee go on its way or, the human can try and wave the bee away. In this case, the first option is more prudent because it has a lesser likelihood of resulting in the bee stinging the human. One can see, then, that finding an acceptable way of making contact plays a crucial part in deciding if active SETI should be advanced. To find the best possible option for pursuing active SETI, one must consider the means available.
First, one must realize it is entirely possible that, if there extraterrestrial intelligence does exist, it may have already noticed the waves leaked into space by earth, if said extraterrestrials has advanced technologically as much as humans (Shostak). As a result, the human race must consider how a civilization might react to a more direct form of advancement from the earth, should the civilization have previously purposely abstained from contacting the earth even when they knew humans were there. One obvious answer: the other civilization will ignore a more direct advancement from the earth (transmitted to them by a policy of active SETI), in which case the content of the message sent by the earth is inconsequential. However, in the case that this other civilization was only staying silent because they were waiting for a more direct message from the earth, the human race must make every effort to ensure future interactions are cordial and friendly, at least until more information is known about the other civilization. Verbal messages, in the form of morse code are an impractical solution because a common language between earth and the other civilization would near impossible. That leaves the earth stuck with only one option, sending meaningless waves into space. There are a couple precautions the earth can take to make sure the other civilizations don’t see us as threatening, so they don’t decide to attack us. First, waves should be sent, not directly to planets the earth knows off, but in directions near other bodies. This way the other civilization might not mistake the waves as attempts to attack their planet. For, sending waves directly at any known objects would be like shining a laser in a human’s eye, constantly. One would not expect the human to politely ignore the laser, or think it anything less than an act of hostility. Still, waves should be sent
frequently so it is clear the waves are intentional and the earth has defenses. In this way, the other civilization would understand the earth wishes to make contact, and that the earth has the ability to protect itself from any attempts at colonization. The part about showing the earth’s strength is of utmost importance, given that “everyone agrees … any ETs we encounter are sure to be … a lot more advanced” (Falk). Thus, they would be more likely to obliterate the human race than the human race would be able to obliterate theirs. Before deciding just how frequently the earth should send these messages, one should consider how civilizations which have never before noticed human presence might react to these messages. Brin, a consultant for NASA, believes the existence of this type of civilization is highly probable (Falk). To approach this type of civilization, one must be careful not to place human characteristics or use stereotypes of aliens to decide how the extraterrestrials might react to knowing another civilization exists, urges Michaud. Ergo, signals should be sent once a year at most near each known object. This way, there would be no doubt over a series of years that these signals are not random chance and are meant to be sent by the planet earth. Of course, the question still remains over whether these signals should be sent at all. However, at least when making the decision whether active IT should be pursued, one understands exactly what the best option would entail. It necessarily follows from this course of action that all humans agree to follow the basic non-aggression protocol outlined above. There will, undoubtedly, be those who may decide to follow their own path. However, that would be true with any plan. At least for this plan, their independent path would do less damage because the overwhelming systematic sending of signals would hopefully neglect any small outbursts of signals sent by those refusing to follow protocol.