Posthuman Blues

Should SETI Turn Active?

We are only beginning to have some understanding of how many planetary systems are out there and to learn about the properties of their largest planets. Knowing what we know now about the tenacity of life on Earth even in the most extreme environments, and knowing that there may well be Earth-like worlds in solar systems throughout the galaxy, we face the real possibility of alerting other civilizations to our presence before we know anything whatsoever about them. This may or may not prove dangerous, but it seems like something that deserves wide discussion.

Attempts to enact "METI" are essentially political gestures; for all intents and purposes, the Earth has already "gone active."

I would be very surprised if any advanced interstellar neighbors don't know we're here. But I enthusiastically second Centauri Dreams' suggestion to include science fiction writers in the debate. As abstract as it may seem, the possibility of contact with ETI in the near future demands the attention of all of us; contact, if it occurs, should be a cocreative venture, not the turf of well-intentioned but intellectually limited technocrats.