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Two astrophysicists warn that passive SETI could be dangerous due to malicious code, blueprints, or ultimatums sent to Earth by aliens or alien AIs:
With all the news stories these days about computer hacking, it probably comes as no surprise that someone is worried about hackers from outer space. Yes, there are now scientists who fret that space aliens might send messages that worm their way into human society — not to steal our passwords but to bring down our culture.
How exactly would they do that? Astrophysicists Michael Hippke and John Learned argue in a recent paper that our telescopes might pick up hazardous messages sent our way — a virus that shuts down our computers, for example, or something a bit like cosmic blackmail: "Do this for us, or we'll make your sun go supernova and destroy Earth." Or perhaps the cosmic hackers could trick us into building self-replicating nanobots, and then arrange for them to be let loose to chew up our planet or its inhabitants.
Although it may be rational for us to engage trade with this alien AI, the researchers ponder the consequences if the cure for cancer involves, say, building an army of nanobots from blueprints provided by the AI. In a sort of reverse-Contact scenario, the researchers imagine a scenario in which the machine blueprints turn out to be malicious. Perhaps humans build these cancer-curing nanobots and they are actually programmed to deplete Earth of certain vital resources.
The scenarios offered by the researchers are pretty far out, but are worth taking seriously in the event we ever establish contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence. Still, that's not necessarily a reason to refrain from opening the message. "Our main argument is that a message from ETI cannot be decontaminated with certainty," Hippke and Learned conclude in their paper. "Overall, we believe that the risk is very small (but not zero), and the potential benefit very large, so that we strongly encourage to read an incoming message."
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Snow on Tuesday February 27 2018, @12:34AM (7 children)
If they had the capability to cross space and infect our systems (or us) then they already know far, far, far, far more than we do, so they'd just be fucking with us at that point.
It's like an ant colony plugging their ears if they hear a human. It's not going to make any difference in the end result.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 27 2018, @01:09AM (1 child)
Exactly. They can travel intergalactic distances and we can barely keep a tin can floating up there for 20 yrs. (ISS)Their tech probably will make thermal nuclear weapons seem primitive.
If they are nice, we are safe. If they are mean, we are fucked.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 27 2018, @01:12AM
And to really troll us they can have a Tesla lead their space armada to Earth.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday February 27 2018, @04:54AM (1 child)
Hmmm. Seems to me the ant colony always wins. My might move them 10 feet, but they will be back and they are already annexing your basement, while stinging the hell out of your 4 year old.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 27 2018, @07:43PM
here, here! even if you eradicate them from your whole property, you're neighbor doesn't give a shit and they just cross the street and set up shop.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday February 27 2018, @05:22PM (1 child)
We have the capability to cross space and infect other systems. It just costs too much money to do it. It would mean creating a space ship / station / colony that can survive in space for some hundred or more years. We could probably do that. The thing is we don't have a group of people with enough money that would want to risk such a journey. Unlike the very first ocean explorers. They didn't know, if there was anything beyond or that there wasn't an edge they would fall off.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Snow on Tuesday February 27 2018, @06:02PM
I don't think we do have the technology even if we pooled all our resources to try.
Chemical rockets do not have the efficiency required to get anything (let alone anything with significant mass) to a star in a reasonable amount of time. If Voyager 1 were pointed at Alpha Centuri, it would take 80,000 years to get there.
(Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Thursday March 01 2018, @05:11AM
I can see it now:
"Greetings, Earthlings, we are here to destroy your planet. You have 48 hours to live."
48 hours of chaos, rioting, etc. pass..."Where's the destruction, O Lords?" the leaders of the world ask.
"We have learned from your YouTube and have only one message for a species such as yours: It's just a prank, bro."