A group of scientists have warned that attempts of making contact with aliens beyond our galaxy could result in "the end of life on earth." Ohysicist and science writer Mark Buchanan wrote in a recent Washington Postop-ed that the human preoccupation with communicating with aliens could be dangerous for human life and its existence and has pushed back on the idea.
Buchanan opinion has been seconded by Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence astronomer Joe Gertz who believes that attempts at communicating with the extraterrestrial could cause "the reckless endangerment of all mankind." The warning comes just weeks after leaked Pentagon footage showed an unidentified flying object (UFO) hovering over San Diego, suggesting that maybe a "close encounter of the third kind" isn't so far off from happening.
Dangerous Liaison
Buchanan's piece begins with the reference of the April 2020 videos released by the Defense Department, one of which shows a US Navy aircraft encountering "unidentified aerial phenomena," including objects flying and moving at speeds and directions that are impossible for human-made flight.
He then goes on to alert that those UFOs coming in close contact with humans doesn't mean they are coming in piece, according to a group of astronomers. "Chances are, we should all be grateful that we don't yet have any evidence of contact with alien civilizations," Buchanan writes.
"Attempting to communicate with extraterrestrials, if they do exist, could be extremely dangerous for us," he goes on to warn.
Buchanan's views have been supported by Gertz too who feels that such an attempt could be perilous for humankind.
Gertz has warned that all attempts at communicating with extraterrestrials could ultimately cause "the reckless endangerment of all mankind, and be absolutely proscribed with criminal consequences, presumably as exercised at the national level, or administered through the International Court of Justice in The Hague."
Why the Risk?
The reason behind Buchanan and Gertz's concerns too are similar. Buchanan believes that any contact with the aliens will be like the clash of two civilizations wherein one which is superior will try to suppress the other, which will retaliate for survival, thus resulting in the end of one. And in this case mankind is more at risk.
Given the relatively young age of our galaxy, Buchanan thinks that we would undoubtedly be the more primitive civilization in the face of inhabitants from galaxies and planets millions of years older than us. He thus compares the possible alien encounter much like to that of Christopher Columbus coming to North America, where an older civilization was vulnerable to the more technologically-advanced Europeans.
That said, many scientists are also opposed to Buchanan and Gertz' views. They believe that any contact with aliens will only be beneficial to mankind through the use of alien technology, which in turn could help in sustaining the planet.
Buchanan and Gertz's warnings come just weeks after it was revealed that crew aboard two US Navy ships sighted UFOs from close distance in April 2020. Photographic evidence too was leaked last month, following which speculation about extraterrestrial life has once again begun.
