The debate on whether we should do active SETI, both spontaneously and as a reply to a detected extraterrestrial message, is as old as SETI itself. However, recently it arose strongly again during the debate about the revision of the SETI Post Detection Protocol. The main objection always was, and still is, that, while passive SETI is surely not dangerous for us, active SETI may be. So, I have tried to use the well known "Fermi Paradox" as a tool to evaluate the possible risks of active SETI. My starting hypothesis was that, whatever solution we can give to the Paradox, it always implies as a consequence that active SETI cannot significantly increase the risks we already run (if any) to suffer damages by ETs. However, a careful analysis of all the possible solutions has shown that, while basically the hypothesis has been confirmed, there are at least 2 possible scenarios in which some specific modalities of doing active SETI might be actually dangerous for us.

What the Fermi paradox tells us about the dangers of active SETI

Musso P.
Primo
2006-01-01

Abstract

The debate on whether we should do active SETI, both spontaneously and as a reply to a detected extraterrestrial message, is as old as SETI itself. However, recently it arose strongly again during the debate about the revision of the SETI Post Detection Protocol. The main objection always was, and still is, that, while passive SETI is surely not dangerous for us, active SETI may be. So, I have tried to use the well known "Fermi Paradox" as a tool to evaluate the possible risks of active SETI. My starting hypothesis was that, whatever solution we can give to the Paradox, it always implies as a consequence that active SETI cannot significantly increase the risks we already run (if any) to suffer damages by ETs. However, a careful analysis of all the possible solutions has shown that, while basically the hypothesis has been confirmed, there are at least 2 possible scenarios in which some specific modalities of doing active SETI might be actually dangerous for us.
2006
AIAA 57th International Astronautical Congress, IAC 2006
9781605600390
AIAA 57th International Astronautical Congress, IAC 2006
Valencia
02-06/10/2006
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11383/2133695
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