Source: New York Post
Oxford scientists have placed a warning against the plans of NASA to broadcast Earth’s location. The scientists say that beaming its location could lead to alien attacks. This was a broadcast message backed from researchers at the US space agency, dubbed “Beacon in the Galaxy,” directed at greeting extraterrestrial intelligences. This is a reformed version of Arecibo message, broadcast in 1974 for the same agenda. Clearly, with more advancements in digital technology, more information can be broadcast now. This new message has basic physical and mathematical concepts to establish a universal form of communication. Following that, would be information on the biochemical composition of Earth’s lives.
Moreover, it would include the location of the solar system relative to major clusters of stars. Additionally, it includes digitised depictions of the solar system, the surface of the Earth, and inhabitants of the Earth. In conclusion, the message extends an invitation for intelligences to reply. However, Anders Sandberg, a senior research fellow at Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) placed a warning against it.
He said that sharing such details with intelligent life poses risk worth consideration. Dr Sandberg remarked that, even though the chance of the message reaching an alien civilisation was minimal, it had such a high effect that one might actually need to take it seriously. He mentioned that ‘the giggle factor’ that surrounded the search for extraterrestrial intelligence indicated that various people just refuse to take anything connected to it seriously. “Which is a shame, because this is important stuff.” He went on to say that though the risk and benefit are somewhat of the same amount, the message could look more crucial to them than we can imagine.
The Arecibo message is one of several broadcasts, including some advertisements, already sent by humans into space. “The poor aliens might already be getting various messages sent for all sorts of reasons,” said Dr Sandberg.
Similarly, Dr. Sandberg’s colleague at FHI, Toby Ord argued in the book, ‘The Precipice’, analysing the existential risks looking at humanity. He suggested that it would be better to have a ‘public discussion’ prior to sending the message. Though small, they still held dangers that could be used to “entrap us.”
Previously, scientists such as Stephen Hawking had warned about the risk on these messages. In a documentary from 2010, that interactions on earth among civilisations on distinct levels of technological improvements often do not work well for the group that is less improved.
