A Report on The IAA Permanent SETI Committee's Review of the SETI Post-Detection and Reply Protocols
Abstract
In 1989, the SETI Committee of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) developed the "Declaration of Principles Concerning Activities Following the Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence." These SETI Post-Detection Protocols provided a mechanism to guide the procedures for verification and announcement of the confirmed detection of extraterrestrial intelligence. This was followed in 1995 by the "Draft Declaration of Principles Concerning Sending Communications with Extraterrestrial Intelligence" (Proposed SETI Reply Protocols). These Protocols were presented to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, and received wide international approval and endorsement from institutions and individuals engaged in or otherwise concerned with the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.SETI as a discipline has greatly expanded in the decades since the Protocols were written, thanks to advances in instrumentation and observational techniques, more sophisticated theoretical calculations and arguments, and a growing awareness of how to exploit astronomical data from a wide range of wavelengths for signs of intelligence. In 2010 the SETI Post-Detection Protocols were revised to update and streamline its provisions (2010 Declaration of Principles). However, the revisions have not been adequate to keep pace with SETI's recent scientific and technological advances. Moreover, the 2010 revisions did not address the revolutionary changes that have been made in the forms of media and information dissemination since the original Protocols were written - namely the extensive reliance on the Internet and social media, and the concomitant decline in print and other traditional forms of mass communication, which if poorly handled places the credibility of SETI at risk. Recent studies have shown there is therefore a clear need for a fresh review of the Protocols.As members of the IAA Permanent SETI Committee, the authors were tasked with initiating this review at its meeting during the 68th International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide in September, 2017. We will discuss the current status of this review, and our plans for a wide-ranging consultation to engage the SETI community, the international community (including scientists in all interested fields), as well as the general public. The aim is for a frank, open dialogue, that ensures as comprehensive a review as possible. This is believed to be the best route to achieve widely accepted, clearly articulated SETI Protocols that will be abided by the community, and will ultimately serve the interests of SETI as a recognized and well-respected academic discipline.
- Publication:
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42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- July 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018cosp...42E3355T