Responsibility,capability, and Active SETI: Policy,law, ethics,and communication with extraterrestrial intelligence |
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| Authors: | Douglas A Vakoch |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Clinical Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies, 1453 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA;2. Center for SETI Research, SETI Institute, 515 North Whisman Road, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA;1. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA;2. Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK;3. Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Taipei 10617, Taiwan;4. Department of Physics, P.O. Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland;5. Finnish Geodetic Institute, P.O. Box 15, 02430 Masala, Finland;6. ESA NEO Coordination Centre, Frascati (RM), Italy;7. Minor Planet Center, Cambridge, MA, USA;8. Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK;1. Astronomy Department, 601 Campbell Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA;2. Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, NL-2629 HS Delft, The Netherlands;3. SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, 3584 CA Utrecht, The Netherlands;4. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA;5. Gemini Observatory, Northern Operations Center, 670 N. A’ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USA;6. Bear Fight Institute, 22 Fiddlers Rd., Winthrop, WA 98862, USA;7. ETH Zurich, Institute of Geophysics, Room H28, Sonneggstrasse 5, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland;1. INAF-Institute of Radioastronomy, Via Fiorentina 3513, Bologna, Italy;2. International Academy of Astronautics and INAF, Via Martorelli 43, 10155 Torino, Italy;1. Leukemia/BMT Program of BC, Vancouver General Hospital and British Columbia Cancer Agency, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada;2. Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Vancouver General Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada;3. Cytogenetics Laboratory, Royal Columbian Hospital, New Westminster, Canada;4. Cancer Genetics Laboratory, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, British Columbia Cancer Agency, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada;5. Division of Hematology, St. Paul''s Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada;6. Instituto de Pesquisa Pelé Pequeno Princípe, Curitiba, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | With recently growing interest in the Active Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), in which humankind would send intentional signals to extraterrestrial civilizations, there have been increased concerns about appropriate policy, as well as the role of space law and ethics in guiding such activities. Implicit in these discussions are notions of responsibility and capability that affect judgments about whether humans or other civilizations should initiate transmissions. Existing protocols that guide SETI research address transmissions from Earth, but there is debate over whether these guidelines should inform de novo transmissions as well. Relevant responsibilities to address include (1) looking out for the interests of humankind as a whole, (2) being truthful in interstellar messages, and (3) benefiting extraterrestrial civilizations. Our capabilities as a species and a civilization affect how well we can fulfill responsibilities, as seen when we consider whether we will be able to reach consensus about message contents (and whether that would be desirable), and whether we have the capacity to decode messages from beings that rely on different sensory modalities. The interplay of these responsibilities and capabilities suggests that humankind should place increased emphasis on Active SETI. |
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