Sep 3, 2023 06:33 PM
https://www.universetoday.com/162974/is-...ilization/
EXCERPTS: John Gertz, who is not a working scientist, is the author of a new paper titled simply “Interstellar Diplomacy.” It hasn’t been published but is available on the pre-press site arxiv.org. Gertz is also the author of other works on SETI, and his writing has appeared in Scientific American.
[...] according to Gertz, whatever the nature of first contact is, we need some kind of international treaty to govern our response. Humanity will have to organize itself like never before.
“There are no easy decisions,” Gertz explains. “This is why we should all be in this together, make these tough choices through representative bodies, and codify those decisions within an international treaty.”
What would that treaty look like? We may already have a blueprint in the UN’s Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS.) The UN created the COPUOS in 1959, the same year the USSR launched Luna 3 and photographed the far side of the Moon for the first time.
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 endeavour with robust debate and gaming of outcomes. And, knowing humanity, a lot of acrimonious posturing and finger-pointing.
“Members might include experts in such fields as astrobiology, astronomy, biology, computer science, cryptology, diplomacy, economics, emergency planning, epidemiology, game theory, law, linguistics, mathematics, psychology, religion, rocket science, security, and space science,” he writes.
Transparency between nations is a critical piece for this hopeful committee or body, according to Gertz. Nations engaged in SETI and similar endeavours must be willing to share information equally. “The envisioned treaty should contain provisions for inspections and verification. Every SETI, space and astronomical program should be open to all signatories for intrusive inspection. Chinese scientists should have the right to receive American data streams and vis-a-versa,” Gertz writes.
Gertz points out that America shares its SETI data stream with China, but there’s no reciprocity. (That may be true, but there’s at least one published paper showing how China’s FAST will conduct its SETI in The Astrophysical Journal.) As a totalitarian nation that’s resistant to democratic ideals of openness and transparency, there’s a very real possibility that China could conceal a detection from others in hopes of garnering some benefit. That’s Gertz’s belief, and it’s hard to deny completely.
But humanity has to start somewhere. And even if First Contact is a long way off, or even if it never happens, reckoning with the possibility is not unrealistic. And we don’t have to solve all of the potential problems to get started.
“A first draft treaty need not be rocket science,” he writes. “It does not require a large committee and years of debate to put forth at least a first draft of a proposed treaty.” What might that look like?
He calls his proposal the “Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in Humankind’s Relations with Robotic or Biological Extraterrestrial Intelligence.”
His treaty begins by outlining its purpose. Basically, it boils down to recognizing that First Contact affects every human alive now and in the future and that peacefulness and openness should be the bedrock of the treaty. It includes language like this: “Recognizing the common interest of all humankind in establishing peaceful relations with such Alien Beings.”
There’s a lot more, including an acknowledgement that we “… know nothing of the prevalence, nature, intention, or capabilities” of any ETIs we may encounter and that relations with an ETI should be carried out on behalf of all of humanity. He also argues that the Treaty should align with the goals of the UN. None of this seems problematic.
Gertz then presents 16 separate articles that can make up the initial Treaty. They’re worth a read.
Who knows where this will lead? Who knows how realistic it is? Can anyone imagine the theocratic leaders from Iran sitting down with the Hindu, space-faring humans from India and deciding on a course of action? Can anyone envision the Taliban from Afghanistan sitting across from female atheist scientists from Germany and deciding how to proceed? It seems like a bad plot for a ridiculous movie, but the only way forward for humanity is unity... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: John Gertz, who is not a working scientist, is the author of a new paper titled simply “Interstellar Diplomacy.” It hasn’t been published but is available on the pre-press site arxiv.org. Gertz is also the author of other works on SETI, and his writing has appeared in Scientific American.
[...] according to Gertz, whatever the nature of first contact is, we need some kind of international treaty to govern our response. Humanity will have to organize itself like never before.
“There are no easy decisions,” Gertz explains. “This is why we should all be in this together, make these tough choices through representative bodies, and codify those decisions within an international treaty.”
What would that treaty look like? We may already have a blueprint in the UN’s Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS.) The UN created the COPUOS in 1959, the same year the USSR launched Luna 3 and photographed the far side of the Moon for the first time.
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 endeavour with robust debate and gaming of outcomes. And, knowing humanity, a lot of acrimonious posturing and finger-pointing.
“Members might include experts in such fields as astrobiology, astronomy, biology, computer science, cryptology, diplomacy, economics, emergency planning, epidemiology, game theory, law, linguistics, mathematics, psychology, religion, rocket science, security, and space science,” he writes.
Transparency between nations is a critical piece for this hopeful committee or body, according to Gertz. Nations engaged in SETI and similar endeavours must be willing to share information equally. “The envisioned treaty should contain provisions for inspections and verification. Every SETI, space and astronomical program should be open to all signatories for intrusive inspection. Chinese scientists should have the right to receive American data streams and vis-a-versa,” Gertz writes.
Gertz points out that America shares its SETI data stream with China, but there’s no reciprocity. (That may be true, but there’s at least one published paper showing how China’s FAST will conduct its SETI in The Astrophysical Journal.) As a totalitarian nation that’s resistant to democratic ideals of openness and transparency, there’s a very real possibility that China could conceal a detection from others in hopes of garnering some benefit. That’s Gertz’s belief, and it’s hard to deny completely.
But humanity has to start somewhere. And even if First Contact is a long way off, or even if it never happens, reckoning with the possibility is not unrealistic. And we don’t have to solve all of the potential problems to get started.
“A first draft treaty need not be rocket science,” he writes. “It does not require a large committee and years of debate to put forth at least a first draft of a proposed treaty.” What might that look like?
He calls his proposal the “Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in Humankind’s Relations with Robotic or Biological Extraterrestrial Intelligence.”
His treaty begins by outlining its purpose. Basically, it boils down to recognizing that First Contact affects every human alive now and in the future and that peacefulness and openness should be the bedrock of the treaty. It includes language like this: “Recognizing the common interest of all humankind in establishing peaceful relations with such Alien Beings.”
There’s a lot more, including an acknowledgement that we “… know nothing of the prevalence, nature, intention, or capabilities” of any ETIs we may encounter and that relations with an ETI should be carried out on behalf of all of humanity. He also argues that the Treaty should align with the goals of the UN. None of this seems problematic.
Gertz then presents 16 separate articles that can make up the initial Treaty. They’re worth a read.
Who knows where this will lead? Who knows how realistic it is? Can anyone imagine the theocratic leaders from Iran sitting down with the Hindu, space-faring humans from India and deciding on a course of action? Can anyone envision the Taliban from Afghanistan sitting across from female atheist scientists from Germany and deciding how to proceed? It seems like a bad plot for a ridiculous movie, but the only way forward for humanity is unity... (MORE - missing details)