Astrophysicist advises caution on communicating with extraterrestrials
A call to “lay low” in search for alien life
Astrophysicist Adam Frank has issued a stark warning to scientists considering efforts to communicate with aliens, advocating for a more cautious approach. Frank, who acknowledges the possibility of microbial life beyond Earth, argues that humanity should refrain from active attempts to contact aliens due to the unknown risks involved.
Caution over messaging extraterrestrial intelligence (METI)
In an interview on the 5 Live Science Podcast, Frank expressed his skepticism about the practice of Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI), stating, “I do talk about METI, and in general, I’m not a big fan of it. Because really, we don’t know what’s out there, and it may be that the best decision is to kind of lay low.” He likened the act of sending signals to aliens to “sticking your head above the grass and saying we’re tasty,” suggesting it may not be the wisest strategy.
Signals to aliens akin to a “low hum”
Frank further commented on humanity’s efforts to communicate with the cosmos, describing them as a “low hum” rather than a significant signal in the vast expanse of space. “When you do METI, you’re really screaming into the void,” he explained, highlighting the challenges of being heard amidst the countless radio transmissions circulating our galaxy.
“And unless somebody knew exactly where to look, they wouldn’t hear us. There’s all kinds of radio transmissions in the galaxy,” he added.
A perspective on extraterrestrial life
Despite his reservations about METI, Frank believes that microbial life is likely to be prevalent in the universe. “I think it’s going to be pretty hard to imagine that microbial life hasn’t evolved elsewhere in the universe, probably quite often,” he said.
