Sep 24, 2019 08:14 PM
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1802.02180.pdf
A complex message from space may require the use of computers to display, analyze and understand. Such a message cannot be decontaminated with certainty, and technical risks remain which can pose an existential threat. Complex messages would need to be destroyed in the risk averse case.
INTRO: The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has provoked many critical discussions on technical and philosophical levels. It is much debated whether contact with ETI would benefit or harm humanity, and whether mankind should or should not keep quiet in order to protect Earth from threats, or even “cloak” our planet using lasers to compensate for Earth’s transit signatures.
One of the scenarios considered in the literature is the reception of an ETI message through electro-magnetic radiation, e.g. through a radio telescope. Alternatively, a message might be found in the form of, or through, an alien probe ... It was suggested to search the solar system for non-terrestrial artifacts, particularly for starships in addition to classical SETI. In our solar system, probes are speculated to be in geocentric, selenocentric, Earth-Moon libration, and Earth-Moon halo orbits, or buried on the moon. Alternative ideas include the Kuiper belt, general techno-signatures, or even “footprints of alien technology on Earth”.
While it has been argued that sustainable ETI is unlikely to be harmful, we can not exclude this possibility. After all, it is cheaper for ETI to send a malicious message to eradicate humans compared to sending battleships. If ETI exist, there will be a plurality of good and bad civilizations. Perhaps there are few bad ETI, but we cannot know for sure the intentions of the senders of a message. Consequently, there have been calls that SETI signals need to be “decontaminated”.
In this paper, we show that it is impossible to decontaminate a message with certainty. Instead, complex messages would need to be destroyed after reception in the risk averse case. (MORE ... PDF)
A complex message from space may require the use of computers to display, analyze and understand. Such a message cannot be decontaminated with certainty, and technical risks remain which can pose an existential threat. Complex messages would need to be destroyed in the risk averse case.
INTRO: The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has provoked many critical discussions on technical and philosophical levels. It is much debated whether contact with ETI would benefit or harm humanity, and whether mankind should or should not keep quiet in order to protect Earth from threats, or even “cloak” our planet using lasers to compensate for Earth’s transit signatures.
One of the scenarios considered in the literature is the reception of an ETI message through electro-magnetic radiation, e.g. through a radio telescope. Alternatively, a message might be found in the form of, or through, an alien probe ... It was suggested to search the solar system for non-terrestrial artifacts, particularly for starships in addition to classical SETI. In our solar system, probes are speculated to be in geocentric, selenocentric, Earth-Moon libration, and Earth-Moon halo orbits, or buried on the moon. Alternative ideas include the Kuiper belt, general techno-signatures, or even “footprints of alien technology on Earth”.
While it has been argued that sustainable ETI is unlikely to be harmful, we can not exclude this possibility. After all, it is cheaper for ETI to send a malicious message to eradicate humans compared to sending battleships. If ETI exist, there will be a plurality of good and bad civilizations. Perhaps there are few bad ETI, but we cannot know for sure the intentions of the senders of a message. Consequently, there have been calls that SETI signals need to be “decontaminated”.
In this paper, we show that it is impossible to decontaminate a message with certainty. Instead, complex messages would need to be destroyed after reception in the risk averse case. (MORE ... PDF)