Expanding Human Presence beyond the Solar System through Active SETI: On the Prerequisites for Legal Relations with Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Paper number

IAC-05-E6.2.10

Author

Prof. Douglas Vakoch, SETI Institute and California Institute of Integral Studies, United States

Year

2005

Abstract

As we consider the legal aspects of expanding human presence beyond low Earth orbit, it is important to consider ways that human beings can even now have a presence in space well beyond the confines of our solar system. Since the 1980s, under the auspices of the IAA and IISL, legal experts, scientists, and technologists have devoted significant attention to legal issues relevant to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), which seeks evidence of technological civilizations around other stars. This discussion has drawn upon precedents from space law and other legal principles to provide guidance about the transmission of messages from Earth to any extraterrestrial intelligence that might be detected in the course of SETI research. 

More recently, discussions have begun on the extent to which legal precedents might inform decisions about whether to transmit from Earth de novo, prior to detecting extraterrestrial intelligence, an activity sometimes known as Active SETI. Some have argued that essentially the same considerations apply whether one is replying to a signal from an already detected civilization, or whether one is transmitting without prior knowledge that an extraterrestrial civilization exists.

In this paper, the prerequisites for legal relations between entities are examined, with particular reference to the question of whether a prior relationship or at least knowledge of the existence of another entity is necessary in order to enter into a specifically legal relationship. The answer to this question has profound implications for establishing guidelines for Active SETI research. 

Alternative models for understanding the relations between human and extraterrestrial cultures will also be examined. Specifically, the paper will explore commonalities and differences between four disciplinary approaches to guiding the relations between humans and possible extraterrestrial intelligence: legal, diplomatic, scientific, and artistic.
For example, using an artistically-inspired approach, rather than asking how we might draft messages that focus on content about which we can come to broad-based consensus, we might alternatively seek to represent the diversity of human perspectives in interstellar messages, emphasizing the value of individual expressions rather than relying solely on content upon which all agree. From this perspective, one might argue that if a message is restricted to only the content about which all there is universal consensus, the resulting message would provide a very impoverished – and perhaps brief—representation of human concerns.

Abstract document

IAC-05-E6.2.10.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-05-E6.2.10.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.