Does Active SETI Put Earth in Danger?

Ponca City, We Love You writes: "There is an interesting story in Seed Magazine on active SETI — sending out signals to try to contact other civilizations in nearby star systems. Alexander Zaitsev, Chief Scientist at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics, has access to one of the most powerful radio transmitters on Earth and has already sent several messages to nearby, sun-like stars. But some scientists think that Zaitsev is not only acting out of turn by independently speaking for everyone on the entire planet but believe there are possible dangers we may unleash by announcing ourselves to the unknown darkness. "We're talking about initiating communication with other civilizations, but we know nothing of their goals, capabilities, or intent," says SETI researcher John Billingham. This ground has been explored before in countless works of science fiction most notably "The Killing Star," a 1995 novel that paints a frightening picture of interstellar civilizations exterminating their neighbors with relativistic bombardments, not from malice, but simply because it is the most logical action. Billingham urges a broad, interdisciplinary discussion of Active SETI. "At the very least we ought to talk about it first, and not just SETI people. We have a responsibility to the future well-being and survival of humankind.""

Suspect it's a stupid concern

[smchris]

Unless there is a magic FTL technology with reasonable energy expenditure, there is no profit in conquest and no reason to expend the resources to extinguish. I could imagine a scenario where a dying solar system sends out a ship or two to reestablish a species elsewhere. But it seems like quite a desperate long shot to establish orbit, collect specimens, find a way to extinguish the species, implement it and adapt themselves to a new ecology (or adapt the entire ecology of the planet to them).

Probably mo

Footfall anyone

[whiting]

Anyone read Footfall by Pournelle/Niven lately. Brash assumption to think that any other advanced race must be friendly, or even benign.