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Proud Mary

Thu Aug 18 2011, 10:30PM

Registered Member #543 Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992

Aliens may destroy humanity to protect other civilisations, say scientists

Rising greenhouse emissions may tip off aliens that we are a rapidly expanding threat, warns a report for Nasa

Ian Sample, science correspondent
guardian.co.uk,
Thursday 18 August 2011 19.04 BST

It may not rank as the most compelling reason to curb greenhouse gases, but reducing our emissions might just save humanity from a pre-emptive alien attack, scientists claim.

Watching from afar, extraterrestrial beings might view changes in Earth's atmosphere as symptomatic of a civilisation growing out of control â€“ and take drastic action to keep us from becoming a more serious threat, the researchers explain.

This highly speculative scenario is one of several described by scientists at Nasa and Pennsylvania State University that, while considered unlikely, they say could play out were humans and alien life to make contact at some point in the future.

Shawn Domagal-Goldman of Nasa's Planetary Science Division and his colleagues compiled a list of plausible outcomes that could unfold in the aftermath of a close encounter, to help humanity "prepare for actual contact".

In their report, Would Contact with Extraterrestrials Benefit or Harm Humanity? A Scenario Analysis, the researchers divide alien contacts into three broad categories: beneficial, neutral or harmful.

Beneficial encounters ranged from the mere detection of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI), for example through the interception of alien broadcasts, to contact with cooperative organisms that help us advance our knowledge and solve global problems such as hunger, poverty and disease.

Another beneficial outcome the authors entertain sees humanity triumph over a more powerful alien aggressor, or even being saved by a second group of ETs. "In these scenarios, humanity benefits not only from the major moral victory of having defeated a daunting rival, but also from the opportunity to reverse-engineer ETI technology," the authors write.

Other kinds of close encounter may be less rewarding and leave much of human society feeling indifferent towards alien life. The extraterrestrials may be too different from us to communicate with usefully. They might invite humanity to join the "Galactic Club" only for the entry requirements to be too bureaucratic and tedious for humans to bother with. They could even become a nuisance, like the stranded, prawn-like creatures that are kept in a refugee camp in the 2009 South African movie, District 9, the report explains.

The most unappealing outcomes would arise if extraterrestrials caused harm to humanity, even if by accident. While aliens may arrive to eat, enslave or attack us, the report adds that people might also suffer from being physically crushed or by contracting diseases carried by the visitors. In especially unfortunate incidents, humanity could be wiped out when a more advanced civilisation accidentally unleashes an unfriendly artificial intelligence, or performs a catastrophic physics experiment that renders a portion of the galaxy uninhabitable.

To bolster humanity's chances of survival, the researchers call for caution in sending signals into space, and in particular warn against broadcasting information about our biological make-up, which could be used to manufacture weapons that target humans. Instead, any contact with ETs should be limited to mathematical discourse "until we have a better idea of the type of ETI we are dealing with."

The authors warn that extraterrestrials may be wary of civilisations that expand very rapidly, as these may be prone to destroy other life as they grow, just as humans have pushed species to extinction on Earth. In the most extreme scenario, aliens might choose to destroy humanity to protect other civilisations.

"A preemptive strike would be particularly likely in the early phases of our expansion because a civilisation may become increasingly difficult to destroy as it continues to expand. Humanity may just now be entering the period in which its rapid civilisational expansion could be detected by an ETI because our expansion is changing the composition of the Earth's atmosphere, via greenhouse gas emissions," the report states.

"Green" aliens might object to the environmental damage humans have caused on Earth and wipe us out to save the planet. "These scenarios give us reason to limit our growth and reduce our impact on global ecosystems. It would be particularly important for us to limit our emissions of greenhouse gases, since atmospheric composition can be observed from other planets," the authors write.

Even if we never make contact with extraterrestrials, the report argues that considering the potential scenarios may help to plot the future path of human civilisation, avoid collapse and achieve long-term survival

Ash Small

Thu Aug 18 2011, 10:42PM

Registered Member #3414 Joined: Sun Nov 14 2010, 05:05PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4245

And they said there was no God.............

Forty

Fri Aug 19 2011, 01:06AM

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Carbon_Rod

Fri Aug 19 2011, 05:45AM

Registered Member #65 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 06:43AM
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lol

Conundrum

Fri Aug 19 2011, 08:25AM

Registered Member #96 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:37PM
Location: CI, Earth
Posts: 4062

One theory I am particularly fond of for the lack of ET signals aka the Fermi Paradox, is that by the time a given civilization reaches our level of technological advancement they accidentally unleash nanotechnology based replicators which proceeds to destroy their biosphere and wipe out all evidence they existed including their advanced technology.

I read somewhere that "a self replicating artificial lifeform with only a few percent increase in efficiency over photosynthesis would rapidly crowd out biological life and consume all available resources". aka "Green Goo".

-A

Adam Munich

Sat Aug 20 2011, 02:54PM

Registered Member #2893 Joined: Tue Jun 01 2010, 09:25PM
Location: Cali-forn. i. a.
Posts: 2242

This sounds a lot like

Tetris

Sun Aug 21 2011, 07:36PM

Registered Member #4016 Joined: Thu Jul 21 2011, 01:52AM
Location: Gainesville, FL
Posts: 660

I think ET needs to come home now. First let's prove that aliens do exist, and second of all, let's prove that they exist in a reasonable and detectable distance from earth.

Electra

Wed Aug 24 2011, 12:00AM

Registered Member #816 Joined: Sun Jun 03 2007, 07:29PM
Location:
Posts: 156

Nah, I think were pretty safe, if it takes light 1000â€™s of years to travel across the galaxy, then unless there are advanced civilisations on nearest neighbour solar systems, that are developing in a similar time frame to our own. A visit is probably unlikely.
Itâ€™s probable many species will develop and go extinct in a short time compared to the age of the universe.

Which is why we have not found any signals or evidence so far as thereâ€™s none within range, over the short time weâ€™ve been monitoring.

I suspect most of the sightings and stuff we hear about aliens visiting earth is misinterpreted natural or manmade phenomena, and the rest is made up by nutcases for attention.

Still keeping an open mind though you know.

Dr. Drone

Wed Aug 24 2011, 04:11PM

Registered Member #290 Joined: Mon Mar 06 2006, 08:24PM
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Conundrum

Sat Nov 09 2013, 08:12AM

Registered Member #96 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:37PM
Location: CI, Earth
Posts: 4062

Aliens based on nanotechnology ie Boltzmann brains might be able to survive millions of years..

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